Gin is a wonderful spirit, it can be both elegant and complex, light but flavourful. One of the best aspects of gin is just how versatile of a spirit it is, not only being used in a wild variety of cocktails but also how different distilleries can produce such completely different gins based on their own combination of botanicals.
For this year’s World Gin Day (June 8) we wanted to highlight some exceptional gins worth trying. These are all uniquely different and exceptional in their own rights, and of course vary in price point and availability depending on your location.
Sipsmith London Dry Gin
Sipsmith is an excellent example of small batch gin making. The London based distillers are definitely honing their craft, and focus primarily on gin at the moment. This London Dry is heavy on the juniper berries giving it a very floral, summery nose. On the palate there are notes of dry juniper, lemon and orange marmalade with just a touch of spice at the end.
Sheringham Seaside Gin
For those living on the West Coast, the outstanding quality of Sheringham’s gin has been known for a while now. But the world has just woken up to it as well. Seaside Gin walked away with the prestigious “Best Contemporary Gin” from the World Gin Awards in London this year, meaning there’s going to be a lot more well deserved demand for the product. What makes this gin different? It has a spicy, floral and citrus aroma with a hint of white pepper and anise on the palate. There’s also notes of olive, candied fennel seed and mildly herbal.
Dingle Original Gin
Speaking of award winners, Dingle’s Original out of Ireland happened to be crowned king at this year’s awards, walking away with the best London Dry Gin award. There’s lots of interesting notes going on, both on the nose and the palate. Even a little bit of toffee and caramel too, which is both intriguing and unexpected. It has a little bit of everything, but it’s all nicely balanced.
Underground Spirits Gin
This is a pricey gin, but it comes from Australia and has a very unique distillation process. First off, the gin features 10 botanicals, including a core of traditional botanicals alongside poppy seeds, basil and native Australian botanicals such as Tasmanian pepperberry and river mint. But the real magic comes from their patented filtration method using very cold temperatures and very fine filters to eliminates impurities and produce a pure, clean spirit. It has soft citrus and spicy tones underpinning the assertive, herbaceous gin flavours with a citrus edge and freshness from the native river mint.
Ale/Sessions 