I’m thrilled about the resurgence that the gin market has seen over the past ten years. While it used to be extremely difficult to find anything other than London dry style gin in the US we now have different Jenever and Old Tom styles available. Today I’ll be writing about my five favorite brands noting the proof and approximate US price.

Before we start I’m sure some readers are wondering “what makes gin, gin?” so let me briefly explain. Gin is a neutral spirit flavored with juniper berries and other botanicals. In order to legally be considered gin, 51% of the botanicals used to flavor the spirit must consist of juniper berries. That’s all. After that what’s used to flavor the gin is completely up to the distiller. Common botanicals used include, anise, cinnamon, cassia bark, cardamom, orange peels etc. The name gin comes from the dutch word Jenever which means juniper.

5. Beefeater 24 (90 proof, $35 750 ml) – Beefeater is the brand of gin that my parents kept in the house while I was growing up (neither of them drink anymore). I guess that meant that I always looked at Beefeater as a brand that was uncool or dated which was foolish on my part. I’ve recently came to my senses and over the past year or so I’ve  been using it a lot in drink recipes that call for London dry style gin. I don’t find it to be spectacular but very reliable and fairly priced. Beefeater 24 is close to spectacular. All of the gin that Beefeater produces in London is left to macerate with botanicals for 24 hours in copper stills. What’s different about Beefeater 24 is that when it’s left to macerate, Japanese Sencha green tea, Chinese green tea and hand prepared grapefruit rind are added to the regular botanicals used to make classic Beefeater. The addition of the tea and grapefruit leads to a an earthy aroma, uncommon in gin.  It has a very heavy body and lingering warmth in which you can clearly taste tea. Beefeater 24  makes a wonderful martini and an elegant pegu club.

4. Hayman’s Old Tom Gin (80 proof, $25 750 ml) – Old Tom gin is a lightly sweetened style gin that was made popular in England during the 18th century. It’s sweeter than London dry and drier than Jenever which is why it’s often refered to as the missing link. It was impossible to get in the United States up until about a year and a half go when Eric Seed made Hayman’s Old Tom Gin available through his import company, Haus Alpenz. If you;re a juniper fan then you’ll love  Hayman’s which has a beautiful silky texture filled with citrus and spice. This is the exact style of gin that was intended to be used in cocktails like the Tom Collins, Martinez and Casino. So if you’ve made any of these drinks and have found yourself frustrated with the results try making them again with this gin. I also want to add that $25 for a gin of this caliber is an absolute steal and while I’m sure there will soon be many more brands of Old Tom available in the states, I doubt that any of them will be as good of a bargain.

3. Hendrick’s Gin (88 Proof, $30 750 ml) – Let me start by saying this definitely wins the award for most the most attractive bottle. It’s made of heavy black glass and looks like it belongs in a turn of the century apothecary instead of a liquor store and makes an extremely handsome addition to any home bar. Obviously at this price if the gin isn’t any good what the bottle looks like really doesn’t matter. Thankfully, Hendrick’s manages to distinguish itself from every other gin in very specific manner. The distiller uses cucumbers and roses in the infusion process which results in a gin that has a wonderful floral aroma. You can really taste cucumber in final product as it sort of cools down the warming burn on the way down. It makes a good if not different martini and begs to paired with a floral dry vermouth like Dolin’s or Vya’s.

2. – Bol’s Genever (84 Proof, $40 750 ml) - This is a relatively expensive gin that is well worth the money. Jenever gin is a dutch style of gin that was created over two centuries ago. It’s made completely differently than London dry gin in that instead of neutral spirit genever gin is made by belnding malt wine with juniper and other botanicals. It has a beautiful aroma of spiced bread and citrus that begs to be experienced. It  tastes more like whiskey than gin with plenty of spice, pepper and body. Jenever is the style in which the spirit was intended to be made and it’s only right that Bol’s, the oldest spirit brand in the world, produces it. This is not gin you want to use for martinis or delicate drinks like the aviation. Try it in place of whiskey in an old fashioned or in an improved Holland gin cocktail which mixes the with absinthe, maraschino liqueur, bitters and simple syrup. If you love gin and have never tried the jenever style, get youself a bottle as soon as you can.

1. – Plymouth Gin (84.4 Proof, $26.99 liter) – For the price I really don’t think that you can beat the quality of this gin. The distillery has been in business since 1793 and clearly has mastered their craft. It tastes very much like a traditional London dry such as Beefeater and Tanqueray with only a a little bit more citrus and cardamom flavor to set it apart. This is the perfect brand to make drinks like the martini or gin and tonic with. It sits in a beautiful art deco style bottle and was rumored to be Winston Churchill’s favorite. I’ve never made a drink with Plymouth’s in which I regretted the choice. It’s a reliable standby and the house brand in hundreds of top tier restaurants and cocktail lounges.

Filed under: Booze, Simply The Best Tagged: | apothecary, Beefeater 24 Gin, Bol's Genever Gin, Casino, Chinese green tea, copper stills, cucumber, Dolin Vermouth, Eric Seed, Gin, Haus Alpenz, Hayman's Old Tom GIn, Hendrick's Gin, Japanese Sencha green tea, Jenever Gin, Juniper Berries, Malt Wine, Martinez, Martini, Old Tom Gin, pegu club, Plymouth Gin, roses, Simply The Best, the aviation, Tom Collins, Vya Vermouth, What is Gin, Winston Churchill