Awesome Gin

For Hendrick’s Gin’s sixth limited “Cabinet of Curiosities” release, Oasium, Master Distiller Lesley Gracie experimented with green botanicals, delicate herbs, and a kiss of citrus to capture a sensory oasis in every sip. Using Hendrick’s Gin as a base, Gracie built on its infusions of rose and cucumber to bring a verdant twist to classic gin cocktails.

Because a drink as iconic as the Negroni cocktail deserves its own soundtrack, Fords Gin collaborated with the Jazz Dispensary for a jazzy LP. Bundled with gin, the resulting nine tracks are a saxy mix of vintage jams from the legendary Craft Recordings archives. Each track is paired with a remixed Negroni cocktail recipe.

Las Californias Cítrico Gin is a tale of two countries — the US and Mexico — where hyper-local foraging across the border takes advantage of the area’s biological diversity. The colder waters of Alta California provide ingredients such as kelp, while Baja’s dry deserts yield white sage and juniper plus other leaves and fruits.

Leave it to the English to create the world’s most interesting gins. Silent Pool is the full-bodied signature gin from a premium distiller in the English countryside. It’s a rich, juniper-forward spirit with floral layers of lavender and chamomile and 24 botanicals in all. Citrus notes are grounded by earthy cassia bark and cubeb.

The popularity of Empress 1908’s Indigo Gin and Elderflower Rose Gin has yielded a third addition to the line. Made with eight botanicals, Empress 1908 Cucumber Lemon Gin is a crisp and refreshing blend for cucumber gin lovers. It’s bursting with flavors of citrus, jasmine, and delicate spice.

Earthy and herbaceous Revivalist Garden Gin gets its flavor from plant-based gin botanicals besides the usual juniper: ashwagandha, lemon verbena, hemp seed, rose hips, rose petals, and plum, to be precise. It’s the brainchild of NYC mixologist Brendan Bartley, but the unsung genius is whoever came up with the bottle’s outdoor faucet bib handle.

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.