Gin recommendations?

Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
What's to say the "vodka" used in one brand of gin isn't better quality than another? Or are you dismissing all variances of vodka as well? :confused:

Like with all things, there's a bunch of production methods, ingredients, even packaging etc. that can be done differently to warrant a higher price.

vodka is ethanol and water. if distilled properly it should be the exact same in terms of quality. it's little things like the size of the still, flue, pipe, etc. what carbohydrate was used. little things which add a little "colour" to the vodka however quality should be relatively the same if it's done properly. it's why nobody should be spending more than 20 quid on a bottle of vodka. because russian standard is pretty much in terms of quality of vodka one of the best.

it's why if you give someone 5 shots of a "decent" (expensive) vodka like belvedere. then gave them a shot of russian standard. they wouldn't be able to tell it was a different vodka than before. because vodka if made properly should taste pretty much like any other vodka as it's pure ethanol and water. the water used probably has the biggest effect on taste and litttle things like the still, pipe, etc adding a tiny amount of "colour" to the ethanol.

so with gin you are paying for the flavour added rather than quality once you get past say the likes of Tanqueray, Hendricks, etc. once you hit that level of quality it's pretty much the top level of gin. after that if you pay 50 quid for a bottle. your basically paying 25 quid for the flavour added to it rather than it being a better quality. i'm not talking about cheap gin where yes they will be using cheaper stills, poor filtration processes, etc. but once you hit the 20-25 quid per bottle market that is basically the pinnacle. after that it's basically marketing you are falling for unless you really do happen to like a specific flavour profile. however i'd be willing to bet after 5 shots most wouldn't be able to tell what they were being given once the alcohol has kicked in as it effects your decision making process and taste to the point the little differences are hard to distinguish.

you even said it yourself. you are paying extra for packaging, etc. rather than the actual quality of the drink. marketing has ruined the spirits market. marketing basically says ciroc mango is the best mango vodka. chances are if you were to do a blind test with absolut mango which is half the price. you wouldn't be able to tell unless you exclusively drink and know the flavour profile of ciroc mango. it's nothing to do with the mango ciroc uses being better but you know the taste like coke vs pepsi but that gets harder to distinguish unless it's significantly different the more drunk you get.

for instance all whisky tastes the same to me. i'm not a fan of whisky. i've had bottles which cost like 3 quid all the way up to several hundred pounds. for instance a few months back i was given a shot of royal salute. then a shot of jura. i couldn't tell any difference. but thats because i'm not a whisky drinker. for someone to say royal salute is much better quality than jura and that is why it's 5-10 times the price i would refute that and say it's down to flavour profile derived from the barrels the whisky was soaked in. the quality of jura is of a decent whisky and will likely be pretty much the same as royal salute. it's just that royal salute has been in different barrels and for a longer period of time. which is why it tastes different.

different taste =/= better quality

it just means it tastes different. so when people say recommend me a decent gin. it's impossible to do as nobody knows what flavours you or the person you are buying for really likes. so it's marketing which tells you. you will like this one.

for example i met some guy at a party and he said "I won't drink anything but grey goose" stating it's the only vodka he could drink which didn't make him feel sick. It was farcical, but that is the power of marketing. As all vodkas essentially are the same thing ethanol and water.

so basically it's impossible to recommend a specific make as being better than another when you don't know the drinkers favoured flavour profile.

it's much like asking who makes the best packet of salt and vinegar crisps. just because you like mc coys doesn't mean everyone does. so you recommend mc coys and the person who has never had salt and vinegar takes that specific flavour profile to be the best and this repeats ad infinitum. same thing happens in spirits world.

i'd love to see all these gin drinkers do blind testing for instance with 30 different gins from the 20 quid and upwards bracket. with someone pouring the same exact amount of spirit and whatever mixer into each glass. blindfolded or poured in another room. then asking them what they thought. they only need to take 1 sip from each glass not neck it.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
15 Dec 2002
Posts
23,299
Location
In a cowfield, London, UK
Yeah the chap liked it :) He had Gordons gin at the BBQ so we tried some of the Millers with lots of ice, lime and water or something - it was delicious! Not sure how I could describe the taste but it was quite refreshing. Certainly opened my eyes. Nice one :)
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Sep 2006
Posts
4,121
Location
Gloucestershire
i'd love to see all these gin drinkers do blind testing for instance with 30 different gins from the 20 quid and upwards bracket. with someone pouring the same exact amount of spirit and whatever mixer into each glass. blindfolded or poured in another room. then asking them what they thought. they only need to take 1 sip from each glass not neck it.

My girlfriend did exactly that to me, with the 50 or so bottles I have. She gave me about 6-7 random ones, but I said make sure you include some of the 'generic' brands.

Although I couldn't exactly identify which gin was which, I could easily tell which one was the Gordons, precisely as I mentioned before, it just tasted of alcohol.
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
My girlfriend did exactly that to me, with the 50 or so bottles I have. She gave me about 6-7 random ones, but I said make sure you include some of the 'generic' brands.

Although I couldn't exactly identify which gin was which, I could easily tell which one was the Gordons, precisely as I mentioned before, it just tasted of alcohol.

so you couldn't identify any premium brand. which proves what i'm saying. you are paying that extra money for nothing. also gordons is like 16 quid a bottle. i did say the 20 quid upwards bracket like hendricks and tanqueray. gordons is like the smirnoff of the vodka world. it's not that good. but sells on name alone.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Sep 2006
Posts
4,121
Location
Gloucestershire
No that's exactly the opposite of what I wrote.

I said I could identify the 'cheap' brands, but although I could taste differences between the others, I couldn't identify them exactly (to be honest I'm not sure how you could anyway)

I'm paying more money for a nicer tasting gin, which is exactly what am in fact tasting.
 
Associate
Joined
7 Oct 2013
Posts
1,302
I'm paying more money for a nicer tasting gin, which is exactly what am in fact tasting.
Exactly, if you enjoy gin and can taste the difference, then it’s worth spending slightly more for your preferred choice (should you wish to) We would do well to avoid the classic PS essay bait.

Personal top gins – Always paired with FT (or equivalent) tonic:
Monkey 47
Botanist
Rock Rose
Junipero
Martin Millers

I’ve not tried Caorunn, will pick up a bottle of that next!
 
Associate
Joined
3 Oct 2007
Posts
795
Whitley Neill - Rhubarb and Ginger (its a purple/pink bottle)

I'm not a huge gin fan, but other than sloe gin it's the only one I've tried that I'd drink without a mixer.
Other favourites are:
> Capreolus Distilleries Garden Tiger (orange/citrus flavours)
> Gin Del Professore Madame (Amazing with Fentimans Botanical Tonic Water)

Both unlikely to be seen in a supermarket, but worth a try if you see them available in a pub
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Nov 2004
Posts
14,365
Location
Beds
Quoting my own post, but it's the best gin I've tried yet. Really cheap too, only £22 a bottle.

You should expand your search a bit more, Whitley Neil range is not bad at best ;)

Some Mare, Harris, Silent Pool, Lone Wolf and Porters should start you off well.

Porters is distilled at our favourite local cocktail bar in their basement and is truly exceptional. It'lI keep making waves in the near future.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
8 Sep 2003
Posts
22,849
Location
150 yds from OcUK
You should expand your search a bit more
..Lone Wolf..

Took you up on your advice.
lovewolf.JPG
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jul 2010
Posts
2,059
Admittedly I've only recently (past 3-6months) started drinking gin more frequently, so not much experience but the below is my timeline:

- Started with Bombay Sapphire gin at a party. Seemed good at the time.
- Bought some Hortus gin from Lidl. Much better than the Bombay.
- Bought some Fever-Tree tonic water. Made all gins taste a bit better.
- Bought some 'Mediterranean' Fever-Tree tonic water. Prefer the taste profile of this. Leaves a less bitter after taste and is a bit more aromatic.
- Bought some Hortus spiced gin. Also pretty good, with orange slice instead of lemon.
- Bought some Penderyn gin (Brecon Botanicals). So far the best gin I bought and tried. Going back to the Bombay last weekend, I could taste the bitterness of the alcohol, so these gins (Hortus/Penderyn) are much smoother!
- Also had some sipsmith gin which tasted very good.
- Had some Hendricks gin which was very very refreshing and smooth. Will buy a bottle of this when my current stock starts to go down.
 
Back
Top Bottom