The colour comes from the grape and not from a dye. Polyphenols and anthocyanins are the compounds that make red wine red, and putting them into a gin produces a deep ruby spirit along with an antioxidant claim and, more usefully, a texture that a clear gin does not have. Generous distils this in small pot stills in France at 44%.

What those compounds contribute is body rather than flavour. They give the palate a slight grip and a smoothness that reads as weight, and against that background the aromatics have something solid to sit on rather than floating free. Pink grapefruit leads, and it is the right fruit for a spirit this colour: zesty, faintly bitter and considerably more interesting than a sweet citrus. Lemon and lime work alongside it, one straighter and one greener, and between the three of them the top stays fresh. Timut pepper is the second signature, and it is a peculiar peppercorn that smells of grapefruit before it delivers any heat, so it doubles the citrus from underneath rather than contrasting with it. Juniper and the herbal botanicals hold the structure. Dry describes the palate despite the fruit, and the finish arrives smooth rather than sharp.

A gin this colour is going to be looked at before it is tasted, so build it in a glass worth looking into. Neutral tonic, ice heaped high, and a firm pour, since 44% leaves room. Pink grapefruit in a wedge echoes the recipe most directly. Skip flavoured mixers, which would fight the Timut. Borrowing from winemaking to solve a problem in distilling is a reasonable thing to do in a country that does both. Colour in a gin is nearly always cosmetic, and here it arrives as a side effect of something structural. It closes citric, peppery and dry.