You know what happens when something is patched together by committee. One person wants to steer the project this way. Another insists on green, opposing the bloc favoring a pale shade of blue.

Yet Van W. Hawxby of Dog Master Distillers in Columbia put together such a group to help him hone a gin recipe. They met several times, tasted and offered suggestions.

The committee faced two obstacles. First, Hawxby insisted on a corn based spirit. “We’re in corn country,” was his reasoning. And he wanted to limit the influence of juniper, the signature of traditional British dry gin.

It took four sessions, but the committee settled on a favorite botanical blend.

Dog Master Gin can be gentle and fierce, but always in balance. On the nose it promises a soft touch – spring flowers on the verge of blooming, garden herbs, fresh mint muddled in simple syrup, a notion of fruit and a faint trace of spice.

There is little of the resinous bite expected of gin. It appears kindly and genteel.

Dog Master is slow to reveal its true spirit, even on the palate. The herbaceous, floral note flatters at first. But spicy embers begin to flare, sending darts of toasted cardamom and clove through the mellow flavors.

Behind this lurks dusty cinnamon that clings to the finish. Despite the sweet tone of distilled corn and a noticeable splash of pear, each sip wraps as a dry, almost astringent gin.

Throughout all of this, herbs and spices traipse across the senses. And you begin to realize this is something unique.

In addition to limiting the influence of juniper, Hawxby ditched other common ingredients.

“I have no citrus in there,” he said.

The gin is constructed from more than a dozen botanicals, including licorice root, cucumber and hawthorn berry.

Licorice root proved the value of Hawxby’s gin by committee strategy. Too much, paired with the natural sweetness of corn, made for an overly sappy drink. When scaled back, as discovered during the tastings, a balance emerged.

“There are so many different botanicals it masks the sweetness of corn,” he points out.

Everything from clove to cardamom to the dash of juniper in Dog Master’s gin recipe is there for a purpose. But hawthorn berry?

“It’s the official flower of Missouri,” Hawxby explained. “Why wouldn’t I put it in there?”

Again, Dog Master Gin is different – complex and intricate, yet also potent. By itself it is a carnival that spins and builds and captures the senses. In a classic cocktail such as the negroni, the gin settles into a floral lull.

Sometimes a committee of voices has the right answer.