Awesome Gin

Add some “ooh la la” to your Valentine’s Day imbibing with the peculiarly sexy “Gintimates” cocktail accessories by Hendrick’s Gin and Wiederhoeft – a Bottle Corset to dress your naked Hendricks 150ml; a Pinky Garter to mind you to keep your pinky up during sips; and a Cocktail Garnish Chain to decorate your beloved’s cocktail glass.

Following in the footsteps of their Indigo Gin, Empress 1908’s Elderflower Rose Gin pays homage to the distillery’s home city of Victoria, BC, AKA the City of Gardens. Inspired by Victoria’s flowers, Empress Elderflower Rose Gin has a bright floral bouquet of nine botanicals, including red rose petals, elderflowers, lavender, and black carrot.

Made in Scotland with infusions of rose and cucumber, Hendrick’s Gin is unusually smooth and much more than just juniper berry flavored. Hendrick’s 10 other botanicals are chamomile, elderflower, lemon peel, orange peel, caraway, coriander, cubeb berries, angelica root, yarrow root, and orris root. To make one gin, they actually make two.

Gin has been an anchor in Holland America Line’s history dating back to the cruise company’s start 150 years ago. To toast its big anniversary, HAL launched De Lijn gin to be exclusively served and sold on board its fleet. The result is a premium gin made in America and inspired by the Netherlands.

The best gins lean in with a strong juniper core. Junipero Gin does this in spades, blending 12 botanicals for an intense herbal and citrus concoction. Master distiller Bruce Joseph sources ingredients from around the world for small gin batches made in a copper pot still and bottled at an unfiltered 98.6 proof.

Castle & Key rose from the ruins of an old Kentucky distillery and now uses rose petals in its spring release. Rise 2022 Seasonal Gin cold-steeps macerated rose petals for 72 hours in the base spirit before distilling it with seven botanicals: juniper, tarragon, lemon peel, green peppercorn, almond, green cardamon, and licorice.

There’s nothing funny about in-flight safety. Except for the in-flight safety spoof Ryan Reynolds made for British Airways, now serving Aviation American Gin. “I’ve tried every gin on the planet, and it is, hands down, the best,” says Reynolds. “Also, I don’t recommend trying every gin on the planet; just stick with this one.”

Barr Hill Gin is getting buzz for going beehive-to-bottle with its honey-enhanced spirit. The premium American gin uses 150,000 lb. of raw honey each year, sourced in close proximity to the solar-powered Vermont distillery. They’re planting 500,000 sq. ft. of bee habitat, yielding enough honey for 50,000 Bee’s Knees cocktails.

One of the world’s finest gins comes from Germany, not London. Rated a near-perfect 99 by Distiller.com, Monkey 47 Dry Gin is a delicious juniper concoction with prominent herbal, fruity, and peppery notes, and a sweet finish. The 47 in the name comes from the 47 botanicals used and the 47% ABV.

Refreshingly light, the classic gin and tonic cocktail is popular worldwide. For an upgraded G&T with an exotic twist, Tanqueray Rangpur is a smooth distilled gin with a distinctive citrus taste. Named after a rare lime from India, aromatic Tanqueray Rangpur is also subtly enhanced with mandarin flavors from the Far East.

Dante NYC offers this 8-bottle series of pre-mixed cocktails. The 8oz. bottles include not just gin-based Negroinis but ones that incorporate mezcal, bourbon, and tequila, balanced out with complex flavors like chocolate bitters, pineapple shrub, and cold brew coffee, among others. Each bottle serves three drinks.

The #1 bar in Victoria, BC and one of Canada’s 50 best, the gorgeous Q Bar at the iconic Fairmont Empress is a wowser. Equally stunning is its magical signature drink which changes colors from bold indigo to soft pink. Canada’s oldest craft distillery, Victoria Distillers, created indigo Empress 1908 Gin to do the trick.

“World’s Best Martini” award-winning AK’s Gin is by Master Distiller Kirsty Black, named Scotland’s Young Scientist of the Year for her part in making GMO-free “field-to-bottle” Arbikie the world’s first climate-positive distillery. Founded by the Stirling brothers on their family’s farm, the Highlands distillery honors their father, AK.

Winner of the Double Gold, Best of Show at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Guild Gin is just one of the stars in Watershed Distillery’s collection. Made in Ohio from local apples and corn, Guild mellows the usual juniper jolt with infused chamomile, and a botanical mélange of citrus, nutmeg, and rose petal.

Ryan Reynolds asks a simple question and offers a simple answer: “How far would I go for my company? The answer is yes.” Watch in awe as the actor and renaissance man takes on whatever it takes to ensure Aviation Gin is the best damned gin he can make. The cameo at the end is priceless.

We love the herbaceous flavor of a good gin. But when you take to the skies, conditions affect your senses of taste and smell. So the guys at Pickering’s Gin teamed up with British Airways to create a spirit optimized for sipping in flight, enhanced with lemon myrtle, imparting a sweet citrus note.

Ryan Reynolds goes full Ryan Reynolds in this hilarious promotional spot for his gin company, offering an ever-so-slightly embellished overview of how the spirit is produced. If this doesn’t make you want to try some, we don’t know what will.

Expand your cocktail repertoire with The Bitter Truth’s Pink Gin and five piece bitters travel set. The blush colored gin is fruity and floral, with a smooth spicy taste, and the travel set includes Jerry Thomas, Orange, Creole and more. Perfect for a globetrotting cocktail enthusiast.

Gin is truly a drink for men’s men, and you’ll truly be manning-up when you gobble down the intoxicated invertebrate floating in this bottle of dry English Gin, clearly inspired by Sauza tequila.

Recently scoring an A at Drinkhacker, Bulldog Gin is quadruple distilled and made in London; it’s smooth and easy to drink with delicate hints of lemon, lavender, and licorice.

Reknowned for their Obsello Absinthe Verte, Esmeralda Distillery’s Port of Barcelona Gin is distilled in their absinthe stills and mixed with 13 botanicals for a Mediterranean flavor.

Named for the botanicals it steeps in for 24 hours, Beefeater 24 uniquely adds in sencha and green teas; best served with plenty of ice, it’s a 90 proof drink with strong juniper flavor.

Drinks don’t get much more patriotic than Bluecoat American Dry Gin; 5x distilled in Philadelphia using organic American orange and lemon peel, it’s making the rounds with top mixologists.