Top 10 Gins from around the World

It’s World Gin Day on Saturday 11th June and to celebrate we thought we’d share some of the World’s best gins with you. The Gin market is booming and there is something for everyones tastes – from your classic London dry to saffron gin to sloe gin to gin made with lobster you’re sure to find something on the market that you enjoy and everyone has their own favourites.

However we have pulled together a few of the very best so let us know what you think… and raise a glass to World Gin Day!

10. Four Pillars Gin – Australia

Until I came across this gin, I had never so much heard of gin from Australia and certainly dared not try it – it seemed like sacrilege! But then I tasted it, it is an absolute cracker, full of cinnamon and orange flavours. Little wonder it won double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

£37 Amazon

9. Tanqueray No.10

Launched in 2000, Tanqueray No.10 is an exceptionally smooth and fresh tasting gin. Named after the number of the still (No. 10) in which it is made, the superior taste is the result of its ingredients. These include whole fruit botanicals such as fresh white grapefruits from Florida, whole limes from Mexico along with juniper, coriander and chamomile to name a few.

£27 Tesco

8. Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin – Dutch

7. The Botanist – Scotland

This is the first and only Islay dry gin. It is from the Bruichladdich distillery created by Jim McEwan. The small-batch, artisanal gin is made with nine of the classic gin aromatics including orris root, cassia bark, coriander seed, plus a harvest of 22 wild, native island botanicals such as gorse flowers, sweet cicely leaves, mugwort leaves and red clover flowers.

£34 Amazon

6. Sipsmith VJOP – London, UK

This is one for the discerning spirit sipper bold, complex and aromatic. Launched in 2013, Sipsmith V.J.O.P (Very Junipery Over Proof) Gin increases the juniper levels as well as being bottled at higher strength of 57.7%. The process includes a ‘triple juniper’ technique which adds the juniper at three stages – first it is macerated for three days, then more juniper is added to the pot still and finally vapour infused into the spirit. This will work well in fuller flavoured gin-based cocktails.

£40 John Lewis

 

5. Portobello Road – London, UK

This gin was released by the award-wining Notting Hill bar, Portobello Star, home of the Ginsitute. This is a place where one can learn an awful lot about gin, so you would expect Portobello Road No. 171 to be rather good, and indeed itis. It’s an old-style London Dry Gin, containing traditional botanicals and spices, that harks back to the gins of yesteryear. Recommended garnish – grapefruit – so delicious!

£25 Amazon

 

4. Aviation Gin – America

Created through a partnership of distiller and bartenders; this American gin is smooth and dry with vanilla, sarsaparilla and wonderfully floral notes. The juniper creates a solid foundation to the gin but never overpowers any of the other flavours. Aviation is a deliciously modern gin, simply perfect for making cocktails.

£32 Oddbins

 

 

3. Gin Mare – Spain

The Brits may have invented the G&T but the Spanish have taken it to another level with garnish, glassware and quantity! Gin Mare is a brilliant Spanish gin, distilled near Barcelona, it is top-notch. What makes it different is the addition of Arbequina olives, thyme, rosemary and basil. It is like drinking in an olive grove – and we love it. Garnish it with Rosemary and imagine your sat on the coast in the Mediterranean!

£39 Waitrose

 

2. Martin Millers – London, UK

Launched in 1999, Martin Miller’s Gin (40% ABV) is made to a traditional London Dry style in flavour profile and dryness but using a mix of two separate distillations.

This is a classic London gin in all senses except one: at Martin Miller they blend their stuff with crystal-clear Icelandic water. The effort pays off, though; it is delicate as a ballerina and very soft on the palate.

£27 The Whisky Exchange

 

1. Caorunn – Scotland

Caorunn Gin (pronounced “ka-roon”) is distilled in Scotland with rowan berries, which have long been a mainstay of Celtic food, drink and even medicine, and lend this gin an usually strong floral character. Drunk on its own, the gin is crisp, dry and well-balanced yet still full-bodied. The botanicals jump out in the palate with spices, citrus and floral notes all working well to compliment a dry juniper note that leaves you with a crisp, clean finish. The perfect cooler on a hot afternoon – I love it in a G&T with a slice of apple.

£27 Amazon

 

So there you have it – in reverse order our top 10 gins from around the world.