The Cambridge Distillery, 2021 Autumn/Winter, Limited Vintage Gin, England (44%)

Pinpointing what makes this characterful gin so individual is both laughably simple and fraught with difficulty. It might be as easy as walking through the riverside meadow in Grantchester where its botanicals were picked whilst talking with mercurial Master Distiller Will Lowe. Or more challengingly, it might be studying how each botanical was separately distilled on Will’s quartet of hyper-modern vacuum-stills, the myriad permutations involved with allowing each unique distillate to rest. Let’s nor forget marrying them together and allowing it to rest for months as flavours mingle together.

This gin feels like lovely days in the late part of early autumn, where the waning sun is just warm enough to raise a smile. Red and purple berry fruits beguile like whispers on a cool woodland breeze. Juniper threads throughout but gently, with masterful sweet spices enveloping the handsome finish. I’ll drink this from a small wine glass, over ice.

Rob Whitehead, Spirits Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (July 2023)