{"id":2199,"date":"2022-11-20T09:22:49","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T09:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2023-02-10T14:43:05","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T14:43:05","slug":"how-to-pick-the-best-gin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/how-to-pick-the-best-gin\/","title":{"rendered":"How to pick the Best Gin"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to pick the best gin<\/a><\/p>\n

Gin is the fastest growing spirit drink.
\nIt\u2019s come from being virtually forgotten since the late fifties when it was mixed with tonic or into a Martini to today\u2019s \u201cginaissance\u201d.
\nIt no longer has the poverty connotations of Hogarth\u2019s Gin Alley ( pictured below).<\/p>\n

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But with more than 350 distilleries in the UK alone, how do you separate the best from the worst?
\nBrandy and whisky can proclaim their length of life, where they come from and how they were aged in this or that barrel, this does not work for gins, which goes from ingredients to bottling in a short time.
\nUltimately, it\u2019s down to taste \u2013 and how you drink gin. Most mix it with something \u2013 traditionally tonic water hence the G&T.
\nIt\u2019s individual so what we put forward \u2013 and what is offered on our London tours \u2013 is simply a matter of personal choice.<\/p>\n

We can, however, suggest where to start.<\/p>\n

The classic formulation is London Dry Gin. Beefeater is the best known \u2013 it\u2019s been around for nearly 160 years still using the same recipe which includes angelica root and seeds, juniper, coriander seeds, almonds, liquorice, Seville oranges, lemon peel and orris root. It\u2019s widely available and won\u2019t break the bank. But there are plenty of other brands, using similar recipes.
\nPrices start at around \u00a315 per bottle.<\/p>\n

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Bombay Sapphire and its many imitators \u2013 look for the blue-tinged bottle \u2013 is perhaps the fastest growing gin. Again it\u2019s widely available. It contains nine botanicals beyond the essential juniper berries, including lemon peel, coriander, angelica root, orris, grains of paradise, cubeb berries, cassia bark, almonds and liquorice.
\nThe brand itself does not boil the botanicals but uses Vapour Infusion to release the flavours.
\nFound in supermarkets at around \u00a320 \u2013 less for imitators.<\/p>\n

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Plymouth Gin is slightly less dry, produced in the same English west country distillery since 1793, and it\u2019s still made to the original recipe. It can be the best for a Martini while many drink it with tonic. Expect to pay \u00a325.
\nThere is a second formula \u2013 Navy strength, with a higher alcoholic content, offering a more intense flavour.
\nThis costs around \u00a340-\u00a345 a bottle.<\/p>\n

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Finally, there are countless gins \u201cinfused\u201d with almost anything, although seasonal soft fruits are favourite. Some of these can be drunk without a mixer. And many can be made at home \u2013 take a cheap supermarket gin and add whatever you like!<\/p>\n

As we said, it\u2019s all down to your taste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How to pick the best gin Gin is the fastest growing spirit drink. It\u2019s come…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,798],"tags":[976],"class_list":["post-2199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gin","category-local-tips","tag-local-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3007,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions\/3007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.secretfoodtours.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}