Audemus Umami Gin 42% 500ml

This is a gin that rewrites the script. Forget juniper-led London dry — this is distilled in small quantities from Parmesan cheese, mushrooms, and seaweed. Yes, really. But it is not a gimmick. It is a culinary spirit, a flavour map of savoury elegance designed for the back bar and the pass.

On the nose, it is disorienting — in the best way. Dried shiitake, warm earth, aged Parmesan rind, and the briny edge of kombu. It smells like the secret base of a Michelin-level broth. Underneath that, the faint green lift of fresh herbs — parsley stem, bay leaf — and a twist of white pepper.

On the palate, it is complex, bone-dry, and layered with savoury intensity. Think mushroom consommé spiked with citrus oils. There is no sweetness to soften it — this is all structure, all texture. Salty, earthy, woody, and faintly nutty, with the creaminess of aged cheese tempered by clean minerality. There’s also a curious hint of tomato leaf and dried rosemary that brings a vegetal lift to the finish.

The finish is long, dry, and endlessly complex — like the echo of a rich broth that just keeps unfolding.

Do not drown this in tonic. Sip it neat, serve it in a Martini with a pickled shiitake, or use it as the base for a Bloody Mary that breaks all the rules and makes a few new ones.