Ghost Vodka The Rosé Gold Skull

Ghost is a British brand, and the Rosé Gold Skull is its showpiece bottling, distinctive bottle aside. The base is summer wheat grown in the fertile, mineral-rich soils of Cambridgeshire, a region known for clean grain, and the spirit is distilled five times to push it to a high level of purity. Wheat is the grain that gives a vodka its soft, round mouthfeel, and the repeated distillation smooths the texture further. What sets this apart is a clear honeydew melon character that runs through the spirit, a fruity sweetness that survives the cut rather than being added afterwards, sitting on top of a clean wheat base at 40%.

The nose leads with fresh citrus, melon and a touch of grain sweetness, the palate is full-bodied and smooth with that honeydew note front and centre, and the finish is long and mellow with a soft fruity tail. To showcase the melon, build it long: pour over ice and top with a good Mediterranean or floral tonic, then add a thin ribbon of cucumber. The tonic's quinine bitterness frames the melon, and the cucumber echoes its cool, green sweetness without ever overpowering it.