Boodles is my favorite.
Sipsmith is also very good. As is Plymouth.
Sipsmith is also very good. As is Plymouth.
5 gins any serious gin drinker ought to be drinking?
- Thread starter buffdaddy
- Start date
Broker's is my favourite gin ever since I discovered it at a best friend's wedding in 2010. I usually have two bottles of it knocking around along with Tanqueray (if only because sometimes I need a back-up like when my two Broker's bottles are gone!).
Martin Millers
Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire
I've not seen The Botanist until last evening. An Islay gin? You bet I'm going to try it!
Wow. What a wonderful, wonderful gin. Bombay Sapphire has been my favorite for years. Until now.
Nothing is overdone in it. London dry lovers will have all that, and then just a bit more. Floral? Spice? It's complex and well balanced. I hope we can keep finding it!
My five:
The Botanist
Bombay Sapphire
Bombay Sapphire East (slim, but noticeable difference)
Boodles
and Plymouth.
As a UK resident this makes interesting reading, since there a few gins mentioned I've never heard of, and probably can't buy over here. However, one that I don't think has been mentioned and is well worth a try is Whitley Neill London Dry. It's quite spicy, but very smooth and easy to drink. Another interesting one is Bedrock Gin, from the English Lake District, which was voted England's best gin earlier this year. I'm not sure I'd quite agree with that, but it's very nice, with an almost peaty flavour.
Georgian Bay Gin.
Ungava. Don't let the colour fool you, it is wonderful.
Genevre. The Dutch original from De Kuypers.
Hendricks.
Bombay Sapphire East.
Ungava. Don't let the colour fool you, it is wonderful.
Genevre. The Dutch original from De Kuypers.
Hendricks.
Bombay Sapphire East.
If I could find a gin that eclipses Plymouth I'd buy it regardless of the cost but Tanqueray 10 comes close. Another one that I can no longer find around here is/was called Happy Gin. The same company makes Happy Vodka, and Happy Rum. I'd encourage any of you who can get it in their area to try it. And it's not terribly expensive, about $20 for 750 ml.
Have you tried Monkey 47? I prefer it over Plymouth.
Also is Plymouth more than Tanqueray 10 over there? Plymouth is about 5quid cheaper than Tanqueray over here.
I'm partial to Beefeaters and Bombay Sapphire.
Gin is a spirit I've overlooked and took for granted up until this past year. Previously I limited my gin experience to the popular, highly marketed brands. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, mind you. Thank you kindly for posting these gins to try! I'm hoping I can at least track a few of them down and learn some more about it.
I cant believe nobody has mentioned Botanivore Gin by St. Georges. It is one of my favorite (if not my absolute favorite) and anyone who enjoys gin needs to give it a try. St. Georges makes a few different gins, however Botanivore is the one that everyone needs to try. I was under the impression that you could find it anywhere, but perhaps its a west coast specialty?
Sorry I just saw you question. No, I haven't tried Monkey 47 and I'm not sure I've ever seen it. As I recall Plymouth and Tanqueray 10 cost very close to the same per liter.
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Came on to post about Old Raj and Bluecoat. Bluecoat at well under $30/750 is a steal, wonderfully nuanced and balanced gin from Philadelphia. Old Raj is amazingly buttery due to the Saffron, fantastic Martini.
I wasnt a big fan of Nolet's just me tho, I didnt appreciate the floral quality.
I would like to try some of the others mentioned here.
Tanqueray's Old Tom is nice, but entry level compared with Hayden's, still good inits own right.
Malacca is discontinued (yet again) grab what you can from the shelves. It was originally formulated to be like an Old Tom, and I think Tanqurary (Diageo) decided to pull this in favor of the marketing resurgance of Old Tom itself.
The Botanivoire is available in Connecticut along with the other St Georges Gins. They have gone way up in price though out here. I agree is is a wonderful product. I also enjoyed the Terroir's pine-y-ness, made a very interesting Negroni, quite nice actually.
I've seen Old Raj but the color put me off, must be the saffron! I noticed Malacca was no longer on the shelf last week and the guy thouight it was discontiued, I think it's quite good too. I've never seen the Tanqueray Old Tom.
Ungava is a gin of a different colour, as well. Listened to a radio interview with the distiller . . . apparently it is caused by one of the botanicals they use which only grows in northern Quebec/Labrador. Produces a Gin that is almost a neon yellow in hue, but with a wonderful tasting note.
dont let the color put you off, taste this you will see. Caution it is an overproofed gin (there are two, a red and blue, the blue is the higher proofed of the two)
I'm a big fan of Bluecoat as well, though I have to ship it in so that makes it rather pricy.
The only gin I really can't tolerate is Uncle Val's, which to me tasted like a mix of meyer lemon (sweet) and a nasty musk. Yuck.
Thanks for the tip. I can't buy it here but we'll be in Atlanta soon and the Total Wine always has it. Since I almost always drink gin as martinis I gravitate to the lower proofed gins so I'll be careful.
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