Juniper-heavy Sipsmith Gin brings the Alps to your glass

Whiskey, rich with toasty caramel notes and spice, may seem like the obvious winter spirit, but don’t discount gin.

“But gin is for summer,” you say? Sure, floral, herbal and lightweight, clear gin mixed with a sprightly tonic and a squeeze of citrus is the perfect quaff during summer’s hot days, but I submit that gin has no season. It’s like telling people not to wear white after Labor Day: Rules are made to be broken, and gin, especially the best juniper-forward styles, can be piney and resinous, not unlike a fresh Christmas tree.

Enter Sipsmith London Gin. Founded in 2009 by Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall and master distiller Jared Brown, Sipsmith is one of the leaders of London’s gin revival. Claiming the first working copper still in London since the 1800s, lovingly named Prudence, the artisan brand got its start making high-quality, low-production London dry gin with 10 botanicals common during that era: juniper, of course, but also angelica root, coriander, cassia bark, orris root, ground almonds, cinnamon, licorice, and lemon and orange peels.

The resulting spirit is fresh like a field with endless sky — bright with zest and juniper — but dry, spicy and tart on the palate.

It’s no surprise that the brand took off; the original London dry makes a beautiful martini, smooth and aromatic, but come winter I don’t want a light-on-itstoes sipper. Instead, I turn to Sipsmith’s bolder offering, the Very Junipery Over Proof, or V.J.O.P., a play on the “V.S.O.P” designation afforded to brandy.

This gin tastes like running down to your family’s tree on Christmas day and getting a full whiff of pine in your face while reaching down for your first present. Made with three times the juniper in the more classic bottle, it may turn off drinkers who don’t normally appreciate the stuff, but for the rest of us it’s at once nostalgic and sophisticated, bold with spice and freshness.

Chilled down and slowly sipped, it reminds me of racing down a mountain on skis or a snowboard, the scent of pine trees and fresh snow all around. This gin is also a bruiser, clocking in at 57.7 percent alcohol by volume, or 115 proof, perfect for cocktails.

Simple drinks like the classic Negroni, with equal parts Campari, gin and vermouth, really let the V.J.O.P. shine, the juniper adding heft to the sweetherbal blend of the bitter and vermouth.

I suggest swapping out Campari for a splash of a minty northern Italian amaro like Braulio, plus a muddled satsuma orange. The resulting sip smells of wet leaves, Alpine trails and clove-studded oranges, a cozy retreat in the glass.