Filliers Tangerine Gin

Filliers Dry GinDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins 28 supplies the starting point, not a neutral spiritNeutral spiritAgricultural spirit rectified to at least 96% ABV, almost tasteless. It is the base later flavoured with botanicals.Glossary, and the tangerine arrives on top of a recipe that already works. That order is the whole design: the base contributes its own spice and structure, and the citrus is a layer rather than a replacement. The family distillery behind it has roots reaching back into the nineteenth century, and this bottling sits at 40%.

Citrus · Fruity

Mandarin and sweet orange dominate the nose immediately, and the impression is of sun-ripened fruit rather than of peel alone. Behind them a subtle juniper backbone holds, with soft spiced nuances from the underlying gin filling in, and that spice is what stops a citrus gin this forward from reading as a soft drink. The fruit is prominent and the identity survives it.

On the palate, juicy tangerine leads the tasting, then the gentle spice arrives and a restrained bitterness comes up from the base beneath. Juniper stays present without overpowering, providing the structure the fruit is arranged on. The mouthfeel is light and refreshing rather than syrupy, and the ending stays clean and dry, which is what prolongs the citrus instead of letting it fade away into sugar.

Long drinks and simple serves are where it belongs, and the producer says so plainly. Plain tonic, with orange or mandarin cut into a slice, is both the intended use and by some distance the best one. Building a flavoured ginFlavoured ginGin with flavourings, often fruity, added after distillation. It may be coloured and lightly sweetened.GlossarySee Flavoured gin gins on a house recipe with a name and a number behind it is a different proposition from building one on an anonymous base. The 28 in the name is the reference point rather than decoration, and anyone who has drunk the original will recognise at once what has changed here and what has been left standing exactly where it was.