Thirty-six hours is a precise number, and it is the length of time Sicilian blood orange peel spends steeping in Italian grain spirit before any distillation happens. Too little and the fruit is thin, too much and the pith turns the whole thing bitter; the interval is the recipe. Malfy is made by the Vergnano family at Torino Distillati in Moncalieri, at 41%.

The peels are picked in November, when Sicilian blood oranges come in, and the fruit is the one that carries a berry edge alongside its citrus. After the steeping, the spirit is distilled with Italian juniper and a supporting cast whose job is to frame the orange, not to rival it. Lemon peel sharpens the top. Grapefruit peel adds the bitterness that keeps a fruit gin from sliding into sweetness, and it does more work here than its position on the list suggests. Cassia bark supplies a warm cinnamon depth underneath, angelica root the dry structure below that, and liquorice root a lingering sweetness with no sugar involved. Coriander seed connects them. The aroma is orange blossom over juniper; the palate is bittersweet citrus from front to back, and the finish is long.

The deep ruby colour asks for a clear glass and good light. Over ice with a splash of tonic is the producer's first suggestion, and it is right: the fruit does not need much help. Ice generously, pour a standard measure, and garnish with an orange slice so the colour reads twice. It carries longer citrus drinks easily. A gin that names its fruit, its island and its month is unusually specific. Most flavoured gins name only the fruit, and frequently not even the variety it came from, let alone the week it was picked. It ends citric, bittersweet and long.