Hendrick’s Gin Oasium

Hendrick's, made by William Grant & Sons, has spent its years since 1999 quietly upending expectations of what gin can be. Oasium is the newest entry in its Cabinet of Curiosities range, conjured by master distiller Lesley Gracie around the image of a desert oasis. The exact bill stays secret, but the spirit nods to oasis fruits, apricot, fig, date, olive and peach, laid over the house signatures of cucumber and rose.

The nose is fruity and floral, ripe apricot and sweet fig meeting dried date and a faint herbal spice. The palate is soft and balanced, juniper and sun-ripened stone fruit threaded with a subtle olive salinity and the cool freshness of cucumber and rose. The finish is long, fruity and lightly floral. Serve it with a Mediterranean tonic and a slice of dried apricot.