Gin won’t freeze because its ABV (that’s its ‘alcohol by volume’ level) is at least 37.5% - too high to turn into ice. So don’t worry about keeping your gin in the freezer, you won’t have any exploding bottles! Old Tom Gin: There are no set guidelines for this style of gin, but it is sometimes sweetened with a bit of sugar or other botanicals, licorice is occasionally added, and it can be barrel aged (which is another style of gin in and of itself). Current examples of Old Tom gin come from Barr Hill in Vermont, Ransom in Oregon, and Hibrimi in Iceland. fresh lemon juice. Shake all the ingredients thoroughly and pour into a teapot. Fill a teacup with ice and then pour the contents into the teacup, top with a tiny splash of soda and garnish with a fresh sprig of coriander.

Once a one-bottle brand, Aviation has expanded its portfolio to include Aviation Old Tom. It's the distillery's take on an old, sweeter style of gin, but they don't add sugars or flavorings, which is customary. Instead, they rely on whiskey barrel aging to bring out an Old Tom taste and accentuate the original Aviation's natural sweetness. New Western Gin: This is really a catch-all term for newer gins that don’t fit into the previous categories. But the through line is that these gins, while still using juniper as a key ingredient, are flavored with a wide range of botanicals, and often use ones that are grown locally to showcase the flavors of where they are made. Bols Geneverwas on the U.S. marketuntil Prohibitionand was not available again until the summer of 2008. It is bottled at 42 percent ABV (84 proof), and a bottle typically sells for the same price as any premium gin.

Tasting Notes

If you have yet to taste genever, it is unlike any other gin you've had. This style of gin is as if a soft Scotch whisky were married with gin, and Bols' malty feel is a perfect example. Based on Lucas Bols' original recipe from 1820, it has a wonderful balance of sweet malt and subdued juniper and citrus. It is triple distilled using equal parts malt wine and neutral grain spirits that are infused with natural flavors. Distilled in Cheshire, England, Bombay Sapphire's full list of vapor-infused botanicals include juniper, almond, grains of paradise, lemon peel, licorice, orris root, angelica, coriander, cassia bark, and cubeb berries. It's old meets new with this gin. While the brand is relatively young, having launched in 1987, the beautiful array is based on a recipe from 1761. Unopened gin has a shelf life of several years - or even longer. So long as the bottle or seal isn’t broken, i.e. no air has been getting in, the alcohol will taste exactly the same when you do finally open it as when you bought it. Gin isn't just from England and the U.S. Distilleries all over the world produce versions that try to capture the character of where they're made. There are three main categories. Distilled gin is produced from a mash of grains in the same way that whiskey might be. Redistilled gin is a neutral grain spirit that has been distilled a second time. And compound gin is a neutral grain spirit that’s been infused with flavors (this is the least common style). While you can use nearly any botanical you can think of to flavor gin, juniper is the key ingredient. There are two ways to infuse the botanical flavors into gin—either by macerating them in the spirit, or suspending them in what is essentially a large tea bag above the spirit and infusing the gin with vapors. Then there are a few different styles of gin to consider. Unlike wine, bottled gin doesn’t get better with age! In other words, it would be pointless to wait and save the gin hoping it will improve with time.

There is a beautiful gin inside this distinct green bottle with its red wax seal. Tanqueray's crisp, dry style is the benchmark for a London dry gin without any citrus in the botanicals. It is a standard to which all other gins are compared and contrasted and also sells for a reasonable price. So don’t keep your gin next to the oven or on top of the fridge, for example. Store it in a cool, dark cupboard or shelf out of direct sunlight if you can’t keep it in the fridge or freezer, and it should be fine. Make sure the lid is really tight. Apart from the possibility that the exposure to the air could cause the flavour of the gin to change, you don’t want any of your precious gin to evaporate!

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It's time to go old school and get a taste of gin brands that have revived the oldest gin recipes in the world. We begin with the oldest of the two, genever. Here comes the science part! Once your gin bottle is open, the oxidisation process starts. Basically, the gin’s flavour will change (and get slightly worse) very gradually over time.

My personal favorites are the clean juniper forward Gin and Tonic. If you’re like me and sometimes want a heavy dose of juniper, you can omit the citrus altogether from your G&T. It’s delicious, piney and only gently spicy. Recommended. Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man On The Ground, a member of The British Guild of Travel Writers and professional photographer. Aviation's choice of a rye base gives this gin a creamier mouthfeel than most gins. It is a gin that you can enjoy chilled on its own, which is great news for super dry martini fans. Boodles Gin certainly falls into a category with many of the other elder statesman of the gin world. It reminds me most acutely of Gordon’s, but fans of Tanqueray and Beefeater will probably enjoy Boodles Gin as well. This gin is distilled in a copper pot still named "Marjorie." The botanical list includes juniper, angelica root, cassia bark, cinnamon, coriander seed, lemon peel, licorice, nutmeg, orange peel, and orris root. It is bottled at a standard 40 percent ABV (80 proof).If you look at the list of botanicals in Bombay Sapphireyou will notice a few differences from other London dry gins. Grains of paradise, almond, and cubeb berries are not your average gin ingredients and they help this bottle stand apart from the crowd.