Whitley Neill Rhubarb & Ginger Gin

Whitley Neill traces its line back to a spirit-making family of 1762, though Johnny Neill came to it the long way round, leaving finance to revive the tradition and launch his first London Dry in 2004. This expression turns to an English country garden: the tart crispness of rhubarb and the slow warmth of ginger layered over a classic botanical base of juniper, coriander, angelica, orris and liquorice, with orange and lemon lifting the edges. For Neill it recalls visits to his grandparents' farm near Daresbury.

The nose offers fresh-cut rhubarb and an insistent ginger heat. The palate is full and soft, tart fruit meeting that warming spice, rounded by a sweetness that never tips into cloying, before a long finish carrying sweet orange and a coriander snap. Pour over ice with a ginger ale or tonic and a thin wedge of orange for an easy, glowing serve.