WHAT OUR RESIDENT GIN EXPERT SAYS:

Never let anybody tell you that you can't learn things from gin, because I certainly have today: that little "&" symbol that I find so hard to draw properly is called an "ampersand". I don't know why I never knew this before, but I'm certainly glad I now do.

Although, of course, this bottle doesn't set out to be an English lesson - it wants to capture your mind and tantalisingly tease you into wanting to try what it holds. It certainly worked on me, I actually had another gin lined up to try before this caught my eye. The frosted glass of the bottle is so unique and interesting that it makes this gin a pleasant delight to look at - the texture is also entirely elegant and makes holding it yet another pleasant delight.

But of course, the last - and most important - thing I've yet to call a pleasant delight is the gin itself. It's a silky pink colour and hits the nose quite fruitily, with almost no spicy notes at all. This belies the actual gin, which I poured into a glass and set about tasting. Once again, there's a fruity sense of strawberry and raspberry; but that alone would be too overpowering. Luckily, this exquisite gin doesn't set out to be "just another alcoholic fruit juice" - it delicately balances that light and fruity sense out with a hit of black pepper and orange oil, creating a delectable combination that excites the senses and leaves me wanting ever more. Luckily, I had an entire bottle, so it wasn't as though I couldn't indulge myself!

In short, although many strawberry gins tend to be overpoweringly fruity, this one manages to strike a delicate balance between the sweetness of today's gins, and the spice of yesterday's, and as such is entirely unlikely to disappoint anyone, no matter which they prefer.

You can see the rest of Ampersand's exquisite collection here or you can also check out our strawberry gins here.