Could there be a fruit that has been more misrepresented in its potential than the gooseberry? The typically sold rock hard fruits deny the potential of these deeply aromatic, blossom filled berries that balance acidity and sweetness with such a deft hand. It has been a long fantasy and a challenging road to find fruit that reach my own levels for quality.

Less than 30 miles from the distillery our fruit is hand picked on a single family farm, the variety Invicta, skins translucent and ripe with fragrant flesh. Only tiny quantities are available each day - just 200kg for a final total of 1,000kg - so we sort each small batch by hand, natural fermentation and careful distillation, compressing 22kg fruit into each litre.

On the nose it is full yet yielding. Filled with cool herbaceous notes of the ripest of gooseberries. Juice filled, expressing acidity and sweetness, it is underscored by fresh blackcurrant leaf, watermint and hints of almond.

To taste we find a beautiful floral brightness that is anchored by rich herbaceous notes. Very complex, with highlights of spice, mint, blackcurrant and ripe wood that appear and reoccur; the palate being coated in a shifting and extremely long lasting finish. An essence of pure, truly ripe gooseberry.