This Saturday, in case you weren’t aware of it, is World Gin Day. As if we need any encouragement. Gin sales are booming: in Majestic alone, they’re up 110% in the past year.
You’d think the market was (to use an appropriate word) saturated, but still the new gins keep coming. Whether we actually need or want endless twists on the classic botanicals, I rather doubt, but maybe I’m wrong. Gin flavoured with nettles? You betcha. JJ Whitley does a 38.6% abv one at a comparatively reasonable pricce (£18.95 at Master of Malt, £19.99 on Amazon), and fortunately it comes not with an accompanying sting, but more of a herbal edge. That’s delicious straight from the fridge with ice and a slice of lime.
As for cucumber gin, these days it’s not enough to have just a hint à la Hendricks: it has to reek of the stuff. The English Drinks Company’s Cucumber Gin (£36.65 at Majestic; 40% abv), for example, is pure summer. Try it over ice or with a light tonic water – I like Franklin & Sons’ one (£1.29 for a 200ml bottle from the Gin Parlour).
Tonic actually becomes much more crucial as flavours become more unorthodox. When tasting for this feature, several tonics, including my usual go-to, Schweppes, were too sweet. Some gins, such as the Capreolus distillery’s extraordinary, blood orange-scented Garden Tiger (£34.35 for 50cl; 47% abv), which the Whisky Exchange nominated as its spirit of the year, is better without either tonic or ice. It contains 34 different botanicals that are subject to different extraction processes. Think of it as a sipping rather than a swigging gin.
If you like orange, you’ll probably also take to Marks & Spencer’s No 2 Zest Gin (on offer at £23; 41% abv), which comes in a handsome square bottle and is made by the Thames Distillery in south London. It contains the usual suspects by way of botanicals, but the dominant note is seville orange peel, which would make it a great base for a negroni.
Meanwhile, if it’s sage that rocks your boat, try the new One Gin (43% abv), from One, a company that raises money for water projects. This is another that’s better on the rocks, and it’s available from what we must now call “airport retail” at Heathrow and Gatwick for £38.49 a litre; beautiful label, too.
Finally, if all this seems too poncy and too pricey, try Asda’s handsomely bottled triple-distilled Extra Special Premium Gin (41% abv). It’s classically bright and citrussy, and ideal for a G&T (though, again, I found Schweppes a little sweet with it). At just £16 the bottle, it’s a bit of a bargain, too.
