The chances are probably not… The taste of liquified Christmas tree is very much a required taste.

That being said the Gin industry has exploded in the last few years. With every major distilling brand having or owning their own gin. Like the Diageo company that owns Smirnoff just bought Ryan Renolds gin Aviation. Even craft distillers all have at least one gin in their portfolio.

The downside of gin becoming a more popular is that everyone will try and get into this market regardless of its quality. As an owner of 55+ gins most are craft others more mass produced I’ve come to terms that some of these companies are just out to get some form on payout in the market, but I digress.

So, are you looking to try and get into gin? Looking for a gift for that one spirit connoisseur? Lets look into the world that is GIN!

There are roughly 6 categories of gin, there are a few sub-categories but those are on the fence whether one would really call them a gin. Some gins fall under multiple categories!

The thing to remember is that if someone says they like gins that have botanicals in it they’ve probably only tried Tanqueray, or Hendricks and they have no idea what they are talking about. All gins have botanicals… it’s what makes gin a gin. One may just have a stronger taste of a particular botanical.

So lets get into the “gin” of things!

So if you or say a person you’re looking and you or them have only ever tried the gins offered at a bar chances are it was either beefeater or Gordons. which are fine for mixing, nothing wrong with that! These are more so known as “Classing Style Gins“. So a gin around that style id recommend ‘Bookers‘ or ‘Boodles‘. Both these has a juniper forward taste with a smoother quality. Now if you are wanting a craft gin along these lines Might I recommend ‘Stump’ by Fermentorium. This is the gin I always recommend to those who want to start getting into the world of gin.

Also ‘The Botanist’ Is a perfectly balanced classic wheat based gin.

Now there is a contemporary style of gin that goes many different ways on the pallet. So you could prefer a gin with more floral notes. Maybe citrus, herbal or even spice.

If someone you know likes a more floral contemporary gin like say ‘Hendricks‘ maybe suggest ‘Glendalough’ an Irish gin. This gin is very heavy on lavender or their newest gin that has been infused with roses. Note that Floral gins are usually on the dryer more earthy side so if you want it to be a touch sweet look for one that have notes of liquorish root.

Now if you or a friend are looking into more if a citrus gin because you enjoy the very well know gin ‘Bombay’ (which is my go too) there are honest a lot of options for you to try. A lot of distillers will make a citrus heavy gin because that citrus is easier to make a cocktail with, with complimentary ingrediency. One very popular gin that is made on Vancouver island that has a similar pallet is ‘Empress 1908’ . The uniqueness of this gin is that it is infused with the Butterfly Pea flower that gives it a deep violet colour but once mixed with grape fruit or tonic it turned a nice pastel pink!

An honorable mention for a citrus gin would be ‘Cittadelle’ the only thing is that compared to other citrus gins that have a moderate balance of other botanicals this is very high on the citrus notes were it over powers all other botanicals.

if you enjoy a more herbal gin defiantly try ‘Roku‘ gin from the Japanese Distilling company Osaka Distillery. Herbal gins put an emphasis on the other botanicals that are in gins. So you’ll taste and smell more earthy notes form tea leaves, cassia bark or even seaweed!

(You’ll find Seaweeds in a lot of west coast gins like ‘Sheringham Distillery’ and their gin collection.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW4VjMqPjuQ/

Now for some spice! These types of gins (along with citrus) taste amazing in a Caesar! The spices you’ll note the most are Cardamom and Coriander. These spices leave a little bit of a heat on the tongue. A nice example of a spice gin is ‘Reyka’ by Ginbrew Distilling. Every gin collector needs just a little bit of spice!

Now that we’ve covered the bulk of gin here are 4 of the lesser know categories. We have Aged gin, Old Tom Style gin, Navy Strength and finally Bathtub or also known as Compound gin.

Aged gin or “Barrel-rested” Gin is a gin that often is placed in a wine, or whisky barrels. it’ll have a distinct golden colour to it. The ‘Victoria’ Distillery makes a lovely oak barrel age gin that holds a smooth smokiness to it.

Old Tome style gin can be rather confusing in terms of what gin is in this style. The gins that fall under this style are also under the contemporary style. What sets them apart is the strength of what is used in them. Two gins that would be classified as an “Old Tom Style” would be ‘Reyka‘ and ‘Cittadelle’ strictly because of how pungent they are with their specific botanicals.

Navy Strength gins are in my opinion pretty self explanatory. They are to some very strong gin. On average it will have 57.1% ABV. The term “Navy Strength” Comes from the tale of the British navy would test is the spirit was flammable. If it, was it would be safe to store on the ships because if it did spill on the gun powder that was stored on the boats the powder would still be able to be used.

Bathtub gins are more of an at home type of spirit. You can actually buy kits that give you recipes and the ingrediency all you have to do is get the neutral spirit. This type of gin it pretty much gin before its filtered and properly distilled. This Gin will often have a golden hue, a raw or “gritty” texture and is some cases sediment in the bottle. Hayman’s ‘Sloe‘ Gin is a good example, although it will be more of a berry colour.

So now that we’ve covered the types of gin, I hope perhaps you venture out into this “spirit” world or that perhaps you’ve figured out the right gift that gin loving friend!