Rhubarb Cucumber Martini

I had no idea what to expect when I opened the bottle of Butcher’s Gin but one sniff and I didn’t need to be told that meat was involved – this gin actually smells like dry aged beef. I won’t lie to you – this was wholly unexpected and a bit off putting. The suggestion is to serve Butcher’s with ‘ a few drops of lemon juice, some pink pepper tonic and some fresh basil’ – but this special mixer is not stocked in the UK. Mixing it with ordinary tonic proved a losing battle anyway – Butcher’s has too strong a taste and simply obliterated any of the mixers I tried with it. The best way to enjoy Butcher’s in my opinion is ice-cold as a shot with a plate of charcuterie – suddenly the spicy taste and heady scent made complete sense.