Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Sipsmith📌 PinSipsmith London Dry GinThe craft gin that proved craft gin could scale without going stupid. Sipsmith is London Dry done properly: traditional juniper backbone, soft modern edges, made in batches in actual copper stills. Worth the upgrade from supermarket gin.ABV41.6%CountryEnglandDistillerySipsmith Distillery, ChiswickOwnerBeam SuntoryFounded2009StyleLondon DryPrice band$40-45 (US) / AU$70-85Best mixerTonicWhat it tastes likeClassic London Dry juniper but smoother than Tanqueray and rounder than Beefeater. Ten botanicals including cassia, almond, liquorice, and three types of citrus peel. Drinks like a more refined version of the classics.The 41.6% ABV is right in the sweet

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Plymouth Gin📌 PinPlymouth GinEarthier, softer, rounder. The gin you sip neat. Plymouth is its own legal style (only Plymouth-made gin can use the name) and the Royal Navy's choice for over 200 years. Quietly the best gin you can drink without mixing.ABV41.2%CountryEnglandDistilleryBlack Friars Distillery, PlymouthOwnerPernod RicardFounded1793StylePlymouth (protected designation)Price band$30-35 (US) / AU$55-65Best mixerTonicWhat it tastes likeLess juniper than London Dry, more roots. Coriander, cardamom, angelica, orris. Sweeter and earthier than Tanqueray, drier than Old Tom. Plymouth feels rounder in the mouth than any other major gin.Drinks beautifully neat over one big ice

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Beefeater📌 PinBeefeaterOld-school London Dry. Aggressive juniper, lots of citrus peel, no apologies. The gin every craft cocktail bar respects but most home drinkers underuse. Cheap, loud, brilliant in the right cocktail.ABV40% / 47% (24)CountryEnglandDistilleryBeefeater Distillery, LondonOwnerPernod RicardFounded1820StyleLondon DryPrice band$20-25 (US) / AU$40-45Best mixerTonicWhat it tastes likeLoud juniper, plenty of orange and lemon peel, a slight bitterness from angelica and almond. Beefeater is the gin that pushes back. It is not subtle and it is not trying to be.The standard 40% bottle is a workhorse. The 47% Beefeater 24 (with Japanese sencha and

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Hendrick's📌 PinHendrick's GinCucumber, rose, and soft juniper in an apothecary bottle. The gin that turned non-gin-drinkers into gin drinkers in the early 2000s. Lovely garnished with a cucumber wheel, average garnished with anything else.ABV41.4%CountryScotlandDistilleryGirvanOwnerWilliam Grant & SonsFounded1999StyleContemporaryPrice band$35-40 (US) / AU$65-75Best mixerTonic with cucumberWhat it tastes likeCucumber and rose first, juniper a polite distance behind. Eleven botanicals total but only two of them are louder than soft. Hendrick's is the gin that doesn't taste like gin, which is either the best thing about it or the worst, depending on how you feel

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Tanqueray📌 PinTanquerayBig juniper. Big personality. The classic London Dry that bartenders reach for when they want the gin to actually taste like gin. Tanqueray is the one your gran ordered, and that is a compliment.ABV43.1%CountryScotlandDistilleryCameronbridgeOwnerDiageoFounded1830StyleLondon DryPrice band$25-30 (US) / AU$45-50Best mixerTonicWhat it tastes likeJuniper, juniper, more juniper. Then coriander, angelica, liquorice, all behaving themselves underneath. Tanqueray is the most juniper-led mainstream gin you can buy, and that is exactly why people who actually like gin buy it.The 43.1% ABV is the secret weapon. Most supermarket gins sit at 37.5-40%. That extra few

Drink Lab › Bottle Library › Gin › Bombay Sapphire📌 PinBombay SapphireTen botanicals, blue glass, and the gin everyone has owned at some point. Bright juniper, peppery coriander, almond on the finish. Not the fanciest gin on the shelf and not pretending to be. Works in pretty much every cocktail you can think of.ABV40% / 47% (Premium)CountryEnglandDistilleryLaverstoke MillOwnerBacardi LimitedFounded1987StyleLondon DryPrice band$25-35 (US) / AU$45-55Best mixerIndian tonicWhat it tastes likeJuniper first. Clean, piney, present, but it doesn't smack you around. The middle is where it gets interesting: peppery coriander, lemon peel oils, a faint warmth from something they call grains of