What Does Gin Actually Taste Like? A Guide for the Curious
What gin really tastes like, from the piney hit of juniper to citrus, spice and florals. The flavours to expect, why styles differ, and how to taste it.
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56 dispatches and counting. Sorted newest first. Filter by section below if you'd rather browse by subject.
Classic vs Contemporary Gin: Which Should You Actually Drink?
Juniper-forward London Dry or soft modern gin? The real difference between classic and contemporary styles, which suits which drink, and which to buy.
Is Gin Fattening? Gin and Calories, Honestly Explained
How many calories are really in gin, where they come from, how the mixer changes everything, and how gin compares to wine and beer. The honest answer.
Halloween Gin Cocktails: Spooky Serves That Actually Taste Good
Halloween gin cocktails that look the part and taste great - from an inky black G and T to a glowing witch's brew. The recipes, and how to get the colours right.
A Reader's Heirloom Cocktail: The Mystery of the Pink Bronx
A reader found a gin cocktail in his grandfather's old bartending book. We trace it back to the Bronx, one of the great lost gin cocktails, and make it.
Gin Mare: The Mediterranean Gin That Started a Whole Style
Gin Mare is the Mediterranean benchmark - savoury and herbal, built around olive, rosemary, thyme and basil. How it tastes, and the drinks it transforms.
The Best Gins for Beginners: Where to Start With Gin
New to gin? The best gins to start with - approachable, versatile bottles that are easy to love, plus how to drink them and what to try as your taste grows.
The Best Gin Gifts: What to Buy the Gin Lover in Your Life
The best gin gifts for every budget - bottles, glassware, gift sets, tools and subscriptions. What to buy the gin lover in your life, and what to skip.
The Ramos Gin Fizz: The Towering Cloud of a New Orleans Classic
New Orleans' famous cloud-topped gin fizz - gin, citrus, cream and orange flower water. The recipe, the legendary long shake, and how to build the foam.
The Southside: The Bright, Minty Gin Sour Built for Summer
A gin sour with fresh mint - cool, bright and endlessly refreshing. The Prohibition-era classic, the recipe, and how to keep it clean and balanced.
The Singapore Sling: The Tropical Gin Classic, Done Properly
The vivid red gin classic born at Raffles Hotel - gin, cherry liqueur and pineapple in a tall tropical sling. The real recipe, not the sugary tourist version.
How to Store and Serve Gin: The Practical Answers, Without the Myths
How to store gin, how long it lasts, the freezer question, and the right way to serve it. The practical answers to the questions people actually ask.
A Field Guide to Gin Botanicals: What Actually Makes Gin Taste Like Gin
The botanicals behind every gin - juniper, coriander, angelica, citrus and the rest. What each one contributes and how they combine into a finished gin.
The Best Winter Gin Cocktails: Warming Drinks for the Cold Months
Gin is not just for summer. The best cold-weather gin cocktails, from a hot gin toddy to a rich Martinez - warming, spiced and stirred drinks for winter.
Irish Gin: Botanicals From the Atlantic Edge
Ireland's gin scene has exploded, built on native botanicals and Atlantic character. The distilleries, the style, and the Irish bottles worth seeking out.
Scottish Gin: How Scotland Quietly Became a Gin Powerhouse
Scotland makes far more gin than whisky by volume, and some of the best in the world. The distilleries, the foraged botanicals, and the bottles to know.
The Bramble: The Modern British Classic Dick Bradsell Built
A modern British great - a gin sour with blackberry liqueur bled through crushed ice. The recipe, the technique that gives it its look, and how to nail it.
The Last Word: The Equal-Parts Classic That Came Back From the Dead
A Prohibition-era gin cocktail reborn - equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime. The recipe, the balance that makes it work, and the technique.
Gin and Food: A Pairing Guide That Actually Works
How to pair gin with food, from seafood and cheese to game and charcuterie. Which gin styles suit which dishes, and how to build a pairing that works.
Plymouth Gin: England's Oldest Gin and Its Own Soft Style
England's oldest working gin distillery, and a style all its own - softer and earthier than a London Dry. Production, palate, and its great classic Martini.
Gordon's: An Honest Look at the World's Best-Selling Gin
The world's best-selling gin, reviewed without snobbery. Production, palate, its lower 37.5% strength, and why it belongs in a G and T not a Martini.
The Bee's Knees: The Golden Prohibition Gin Sour Made for Summer
A Prohibition-era gin sour reborn - gin, fresh lemon and honey shaken into a golden summer classic. The recipe, the honey-syrup trick, and how to get it right.
Bombay Sapphire: The Vapour-Infused Gin That Built the Modern G and T
The blue bottle that made gin approachable for a generation. Vapour infusion, the ten-botanical recipe, and where it actually earns its place.
The Best Sloe Gins: A Liqueur Worth Getting Right for Autumn
Sloe gin is a liqueur, not a gin - blackthorn berries steeped in gin and sugar. The best bottles, how they differ, and how to drink them from autumn on.
Tanqueray: The Four-Botanical London Dry That Defines Classic Gin
The green-bottle benchmark built on just four botanicals. Production, palate, and why it remains the reference gin for a Martini, G and T, and Negroni.
The Best Gins for a Gin and Tonic: A Bottle for Every Mood
The gins that make the best G and T, from bold classics to aromatic sippers, plus the tonic, ice and garnish that matter as much as the bottle.
The Aviation: A Cocktail That Disappeared and Came Back Differently
Gin, maraschino, lemon, and violet. The pre-Prohibition cocktail that vanished and returned with a missing ingredient. Now made two ways.
The Best Non-Alcoholic Gins: What Actually Works in a G and T
Zero-proof gin alternatives, ranked by how well they survive tonic and ice. Which deliver real botanical bite, which taste like flavoured water, and why.
Pink Gin and Sloe Gin: Two Different Drinks That Get Confused
Both pink. Both gin-adjacent. Completely different products. A guide to what each actually is, where they came from, and which deserves space on the shelf.
Indian Gin and the New Asian Craft Wave
India produces the cardamom, coriander, and citrus for gin worldwide. Why it took until the 2020s to make its own, and which producers matter.
How to Read a Gin Label: What the Words Actually Mean
London Dry, navy strength, small batch, craft. A guide to which gin label terms are legally regulated and which are just marketing decoration.
Sipsmith Gin: The London Distillery That Restarted a Tradition
The first new copper-pot gin distillery in central London in 189 years. How Sipsmith argued its way past Britain's distilling laws and what they make now.
The Gimlet: A Sailor's Cocktail and the Lime Cordial Argument
Gin, lime cordial, no ice in the original. The Royal Navy cocktail that survived two centuries and now divides modern bartenders over whether to use fresh lime.
Stirred or Shaken: When to Use Each Cocktail Technique
James Bond was wrong. Here's the actual rule for when to stir a cocktail and when to shake it, why it matters, and what each technique does to the drink.
Australian Gin: A Continental Distillation Boom Built on Native Botanicals
Lemon myrtle, finger lime, pepperberry, anise myrtle. How Australia built a distinctive gin tradition from ingredients that grow nowhere else.
Inside Plymouth: England's Oldest Working Gin Distillery
Black Friars in Plymouth has been making gin in the same building since 1793. A profile of England's oldest gin producer and the style that took its name.
How to Make a Strawberry Basil Gin Smash
Fresh strawberries muddled with basil, gin, and lime - a bright summer cocktail that captures the season in one glass. Five ingredients, five minutes.
How to Garnish a Gin Cocktail: Beyond the Lime Wheel
Garnish provides most of a cocktail's aroma, and aroma is most of flavor. How to match garnishes to your gin's botanicals - and the common mistakes.
The Martini: Wet, Dry, and the Reverse That Almost Vanished
The simplest cocktail in the world is the hardest to discuss. Three ratios, what each does to the drink, and which one bartenders argue about most.
How to Make a Frozen Gin and Tonic
The G&T meets the slushy. Three ingredients, one blender, ten minutes - the easiest summer cocktail you'll make all season.
Roku Gin: Suntory's Six-Botanical Bet on Japanese Identity
The Osaka-made gin that brought sakura, yuzu, and sansho pepper to the international market. Production, palate, and where it actually sits.
Genever: Gin's Ancestor and the Spirit the Dutch Still Drink Differently
The Netherlands gave the world gin - then kept making its older relative. A guide to genever, its history, the styles, and why the Dutch never let go of it.
How to Make a Cucumber Elderflower Gin Spritz
Gin, elderflower, cucumber, and prosecco. The Hugo Spritz's gin cousin - four ingredients, five minutes, no special equipment for a perfect summer drink.
The Best Tonic Water for Gin: A Buyer's Comparison
Tonic water makes up most of a gin and tonic by volume. Which brands actually justify their price, and how to match the right tonic to your gin.
Inside Ki No Bi: Where Kyoto Botanicals Meet a London Dry Tradition
The story of The Kyoto Distillery and the gin that quietly redefined Japanese gin: yuzu, gyokuro, sansho pepper, and a six-category botanical approach.
How to Make a Proper Gin and Tonic at Home
The right glass, the right ice, the right ratio, the right tonic, the right garnish. Five elements that separate a great G&T from a bad one - explained simply.
The Negroni: One Cocktail, Three Schools of Thought
The Florentine 1:1:1, the bartender's 1:1:0.75, and the contemporary stirred version. How three approaches to the Negroni produce three different drinks.
American Craft Gin: A Continental Style in Five Regions
Why the American gin renaissance happened so late, the five regional schools that emerged, and which producers actually built something distinct.
Hendrick's Gin: Everything You Should Know Before Buying
The Scottish contemporary gin that put cucumber and rose on the global bar. Production history, botanical profile, and how Hendrick's sits against newer competitors.
Inside Monkey 47: The Forty-Seven Botanicals of the Black Forest
Germany's super-premium gin, built on a British WWII pilot's monkey, an Alsatian forest, and forty-seven distinct botanicals. The case for and against.
How to Build a Small Home Gin Bar (Three Bottles Maximum)
Three bottles cover every gin cocktail worth making at home. Which three, what each does, and why a bigger collection rarely improves the drinks.
Spain's Gin Tonic Tradition: Why Spanish G&Ts Are Built Differently
The copa de balón, the elaborate garnishes, the heavier pour. How the Spanish approach to gin and tonic became globally influential.
London Dry, Plymouth, Old Tom, Genever: Gin Styles Explained
A reference guide to the major historical gin styles. What distinguishes London Dry from Plymouth, what Old Tom actually is, and where genever fits.
What 'Navy Strength' Gin Actually Means
Navy strength gin sits at 57% ABV for a specific historical reason, and it changes how the spirit behaves in cocktails. Here's what to know before you buy.
Tanqueray No. Ten: The Premium London Dry, Explained
The fresh-citrus variant of the classic gin, distilled with whole grapefruits and chamomile in a small still. How Tanqueray No. Ten became the bartender's choice.
The French 75: One Cocktail, Three Origin Stories
Gin, lemon, sugar, and champagne - but the recipe and the origin are both contested. Three competing claims for one of the great cocktails.