Mad Owl Gin

Grains of paradise are the botanical that gives this Danish London DryLondon DryA style, not a place of origin: every flavour comes from distilling natural botanicals. After distillation only water and a trace of sugar may be added, with no flavouring or colouring.GlossarySee London Dry gins its edge. A West African seed carrying a peppery warmth quite unlike that of black pepper, it sits behind a citrus-led recipe built in North Zealand from juniper and coriander, angelica and orris root, lemon verbena and fresh orange and lemon zest, bottled at 40% ABV.

Citrus · Dry

Citrus does the leading and it is fresh zest rather than juice, which matters: the oils give a lifted, slightly bitter brightness that no concentrate reproduces. Lemon comes first, clementine follows with a rounder sweetness, and lemon verbena works between them with a green lemony note that belongs to a herb rather than a fruit. Underneath, juniper holds a clean pine line and coriander adds its familiar warm seed spice. Then the grains of paradise arrive late, a dry peppery heat that lifts the finish and stops a citrus-led gin from ending flat and forgettable. Angelica and orris supply the dry structural grip beneath everything, orris leaving its fine powdery texture behind.

Crisp and zesty as it is, whatever you build around it should stay just as uncluttered. Nothing in the recipe wants covering up. A plain tonic with tight carbonation preserves the zest, and a broad ribbon of lemon zest, squeezed over the glass, reinforces what the spirit already holds. Clementine peel makes the more interesting alternative and follows the palate more closely still. Sweet mixers are the thing to avoid: they flatten the peppery finish before anything else. It also makes a clean, sharp MartiniDry MartiniGin and a little dry vermouth, stirred over ice and served in a well-chilled stemmed glass, with an olive or a twist.Glossary, which is where the pepper stands furthest forward. A citrus gin that ends on spice rather than on fruit is doing something more than the category usually asks. It ends dry, citric and gently peppery.