1:45 "This is probably what James Bond used... " Not Tanqueray... not vodka... the recipe included in the Casino Royale novel specifies Gordon's gin (!).
I would add Roku Gin (Japanese), Hendrick’s Summer Solstice (seasonal, and definitely more than $30, but totally amazing), and for anyone in California there’s a distillery out of LA called Greenbar that makes a gin called City Bright, which has at least 20 different ingredients. (I prefer gins with really distinct flavor profiles, and adore anything floral.)
I ride or die for Beefeater martinis, no love here? Brokers is decent. I will try Fords Officer Reserve and Sipsmith when I can get to a place that stocks more than Bombay, Tanqueray, Beefeater & New Amsterdam (shudder). Very much in price range - nothing wrong with Seagrams for cheap G&Ts for a crowd. Out of price range but must plug - Durham Distillery's Navy Strength, boy do I miss living in Durham!
Beefeater is a great choice, and I almost slotted that in where Tanqueray is. I think you could go either way there. If you can find a bottle of Sipsmith, definitely give it a try, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Never tried the Durham Navy Strength, but I'll bet it's fantastic!
I will have to try Sipsmith but its almost $40 in my market. I haven't had Tanqueray in a while but always remembered not liking it. I really prefer Beefeater in my G&T.
Oh, wow, ya that's a big difference. Sipsmith was $27.99 at Total Wine in Austin, TX. I darn near slotted Beefeater in where Tanqueray is. I think they're both solid, but can understand favoring one over the other.
Sadly our gin selection (total wine) isn't the greatest, but we do get a few good ones such as: 1220's Origin, which is a local gin that I think I nailed down as lavender heavy, it also has a barrel reserve version that really pulls a lot of notes and characteristics from the port barrels it sits in for a few months i.e. way too sweet and fruity to drink on it's own, One that you could probably get is Citadelle Jardin D'Ete Gin, which is so good I haven't yet tried their actual gin, it's quite citrusy with the undertones of floral you'd expect, and finally to round off my over use of commas, 135 East, which I do prefer over Suntory's Roku gin, the unique ingredients they use are more prominent. All in all I started preferring gin, because as opposed to subtle differences you can get wildly different outcomes and that sadly makes using them in cocktails harder.
These are all wonderful picks. We don't have them in our backbar at the moment, but we'll be looking to acquire. The differences in gin profiles can definitely change the way a cocktail tastes, which can present challenges. (10 commas in one sentence, not bad!)
@@liberandco Haha what can I say my English teacher "loved" me. As for the flavors it really can, but it also opens new door for options. Take 1220's Morpho, the guy's who made the Origin I mentioned, it has a weird flavor profile I'll need a few more snoots to nail down. Regardless it's main gimmick is it is a light blue that in the presence of an acid it turns...purple, yes purple which would insinuate pea flowers in some essence, and sure enough wouldn't you know it with a little lime juice it feels complete. Now yer wondering where I'm going with this, I am going to try and make a margarita out of it, yes a gin margarita, gin is a mad scientist's wet dream and no I cannot be stopped.
Aviation is just tasteless. It has little to no juniper flavor at all. It shouldn’t even qualify to be a gin. It’s a vodka. All the rest are pretty good. I would add Seagram’s, Beefeaters and Gordon’s.
You're right that Aviation has a very mild juniper profile, but I wouldn't call it tasteless: it definitely has some citrus notes, and is fairly spiced, with a strong sarsaparilla flavor. Honestly, I hated it the first couple of times I tried it, but it grew on me when just drinking it over ice or with a touch of soda.
Gordons London Dry is a great $20 gin option along with Beefeater in the $30 price point.
Agree!
1:45 "This is probably what James Bond used... " Not Tanqueray... not vodka... the recipe included in the Casino Royale novel specifies Gordon's gin (!).
I would add Roku Gin (Japanese), Hendrick’s Summer Solstice (seasonal, and definitely more than $30, but totally amazing), and for anyone in California there’s a distillery out of LA called Greenbar that makes a gin called City Bright, which has at least 20 different ingredients. (I prefer gins with really distinct flavor profiles, and adore anything floral.)
Great picks. I just saw an article that featured Roku Gin today! We actually have some Greenbar City Bright here at the office. It's quite good!
Hendricks midsummer with Italicus, lemon, simple and orange bitters is summer in a glass!
Nikka makes a good gin too. Their whiskey is about $60 a bottle but their gin is in the $30 range
Haven't tried Haymens but agree with the rest of the picks. If you dont mind spending more on gin then give The Botanist a try.
I love The Botanist! Also recommend Drumshanbo Irish Gin in the $30+ category!
The Botanist is great! A solid pick for the over $30 category. We have Drumshanbo Irish Gin at our office and love that as well.
Good line-up. You could have included Plymouth - especially when thinking of classic mixing gins.
That is a great add! Cheers!
Plymouth is a great gin, but I've never seen in for less than $34 and nowadays, where I live, it sells for more like $40.
I ride or die for Beefeater martinis, no love here? Brokers is decent. I will try Fords Officer Reserve and Sipsmith when I can get to a place that stocks more than Bombay, Tanqueray, Beefeater & New Amsterdam (shudder).
Very much in price range - nothing wrong with Seagrams for cheap G&Ts for a crowd.
Out of price range but must plug - Durham Distillery's Navy Strength, boy do I miss living in Durham!
Beefeater is a great choice, and I almost slotted that in where Tanqueray is. I think you could go either way there. If you can find a bottle of Sipsmith, definitely give it a try, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Never tried the Durham Navy Strength, but I'll bet it's fantastic!
I will have to try Sipsmith but its almost $40 in my market. I haven't had Tanqueray in a while but always remembered not liking it. I really prefer Beefeater in my G&T.
Oh, wow, ya that's a big difference. Sipsmith was $27.99 at Total Wine in Austin, TX. I darn near slotted Beefeater in where Tanqueray is. I think they're both solid, but can understand favoring one over the other.
Indeed. I buy gin in two states, and Sipsmith is $39-40 in both places. Its inclusion on this list is Bizarre. I guess it's good to live in Austin!
I prefer a London Dry. Beefeater is my favorite. I enjoyed the Bombay London Dry. The Sipsmith is expensive, in my local store.
Sadly our gin selection (total wine) isn't the greatest, but we do get a few good ones such as: 1220's Origin, which is a local gin that I think I nailed down as lavender heavy, it also has a barrel reserve version that really pulls a lot of notes and characteristics from the port barrels it sits in for a few months i.e. way too sweet and fruity to drink on it's own, One that you could probably get is Citadelle Jardin D'Ete Gin, which is so good I haven't yet tried their actual gin, it's quite citrusy with the undertones of floral you'd expect, and finally to round off my over use of commas, 135 East, which I do prefer over Suntory's Roku gin, the unique ingredients they use are more prominent. All in all I started preferring gin, because as opposed to subtle differences you can get wildly different outcomes and that sadly makes using them in cocktails harder.
These are all wonderful picks. We don't have them in our backbar at the moment, but we'll be looking to acquire. The differences in gin profiles can definitely change the way a cocktail tastes, which can present challenges. (10 commas in one sentence, not bad!)
@@liberandco Haha what can I say my English teacher "loved" me. As for the flavors it really can, but it also opens new door for options. Take 1220's Morpho, the guy's who made the Origin I mentioned, it has a weird flavor profile I'll need a few more snoots to nail down. Regardless it's main gimmick is it is a light blue that in the presence of an acid it turns...purple, yes purple which would insinuate pea flowers in some essence, and sure enough wouldn't you know it with a little lime juice it feels complete. Now yer wondering where I'm going with this, I am going to try and make a margarita out of it, yes a gin margarita, gin is a mad scientist's wet dream and no I cannot be stopped.
I wanted to write something to complienment you but this Tanquerayuu is making ir difficult to wrote. Thoihf autocorrect is helping
autocorrect for the win!
Aviation is just tasteless. It has little to no juniper flavor at all. It shouldn’t even qualify to be a gin. It’s a vodka. All the rest are pretty good. I would add Seagram’s, Beefeaters and Gordon’s.
You're right that Aviation has a very mild juniper profile, but I wouldn't call it tasteless: it definitely has some citrus notes, and is fairly spiced, with a strong sarsaparilla flavor. Honestly, I hated it the first couple of times I tried it, but it grew on me when just drinking it over ice or with a touch of soda.
Under 30, Beefeater.
that one flew under the radar 🤔
The only James Bond that specified vodka what's Daniel Craig James Bond all the risks never mentioned anything and we're assuming it was gin
Caliber Gin is smoother than aviation, it sucks!