Isn't gin just flavoured vodka?

I have heard this so many times.

It’s usually said with a smirk as though delivering some kind of gotcha barb.

There’s a challenge to it. “Huh, you like gin so much — what are you gonna do about that then?”

I think they expect me to take issue with “flavoured vodka” but actually my beef is with “just”.

So I sigh (inwardly) and say yes, gin and vodka both begin their existence in same way as neutral spirit. Yes, both are easier and quicker to make than some other spirits. And so yes, there are lots of examples on the market and these are not always great.

And then I say no, it doesn’t follow that gin (or vodka) can’t be done well. Nor does it mean that making them well is easy — because it’s not. Nor does it follow that other spirits — whisky, say — are somehow innately nobler thanks to the honest toil at the mash tun, the slow craft by the gleaming copper pot, the long slumber in wood as motes of dunnage dust dance in a slanting ray of sun…

Sweet summer child, do you know how many shit whiskies there are? Nor is it necessarily any less industrial than buying in and redistilling neutral spirit may sound. I mean good God, some Scotch giants pump the stuff out like so much sausage meat.

So no, gin isn’t “just” flavoured vodka.

Gin is gin. Like it or don’t like it, that’s up to you, but please don't kid yourself it's an inferior category just because it's not for you.

Maybe you just don’t have the palate for juniper.

Gins that taste of gin

Talking of which, here are some classic belters that I covered in my book Gin A Tasting Course. The whole idea of that was to group gins by flavour profile — fruity, herbal, maritime and umami and so on.

All well and good. But sometimes you just want a gin that “tastes of gin”. So here you go, six of the best, with the best prices I could find today (and no affiliate links):

Tanqueray
£20 from Majestic
41.3% ABV · Base: Grain spirit · Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Liquorice Root

Want to know what gin tastes like? Bosh! Here's the rock which, as gin's tides swirl around it, remains classic, rounded, balanced, and delicious. Yes, it's a mass-market gin. What of it? This is proof that you don't need to spend lots of money to get something that deserves a spot in any kitchen and in every bar. The most juniper-y juniper greets your nose alongside almost citric coriander. On the palate these are joined by angelica which blends almost seamlessly with the juniper before adding its own woody and perfumed element. Liquorice adds depth, mainly, and also a touch of sweetness. There's a long, dry finish with coriander and pine and just a pleasing tingle of alcoholic warmth. Superb in a G&T but for cocktails maybe reach for the Tanqueray No. Ten instead.

Plymouth
£27.95 from Master of Malt
41.2% ABV · Base: Grain spirit · Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Angelica Root, Cardamom, Orris Root

Softer than a London Dry and driven by a pleasing balance of stiff juniper pine and earthy, aromatic cardamom and coriander on the nose. The palate is smooth and creamy. There's a quick flash of orange before the soft, rooty–herbal flavours wash through and begin their build up to juniper again. It's a little sweet. Or off-dry, rather: not actually sweet but departed from dry and headed in that direction. The finish is long and drying, woody and piney from angelica and juniper, but with tonic coriander, lemon and orange come out more here. A hugely versatile classic, and a must for any cocktail lover.

Sipsmith VJOP
£42 from Sipsmith
57.7% ABV · Base: Wheat spirit · Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Cassia, Cinnamon, Orris Root, Angelica Root, Liquorice Root

The VJOP stands for "Very Junipery Over Proof Gin", and it certainly delivers on that. Sipsmith uses twice as much juniper in this as it does in its London Dry Gin, and adds it in three ways. One lot is macerated for three days before the stills are fired, at which point a second lot is added to the pot and a third goes into a vapour basket. The end result is a big, bold juniper party in your mouth, but with some pleasing complexity underneath also if you care to look. Juniper and woody notes dominate the nose above orange zest and coriander. Angelica and rich spice come along on the palate, and with tonic there's a lemon meringue pie character as well. The finish is long and dry and woody again, with juniper sailing off into the sunset. Makes a really killer negroni.

Hepple
£39.95 from Hepple
45% ABV · Base: English wheat spirit · Botanicals: Juniper, Fennel Seed, Douglas Fir, Lovage, Bog Myrtle, Blackcurrant Leaf, Blackcurrant, Lemon Peel, Coriander Seed, Angelica Root, Liquorice Root, Orris Root

Quite simply one of the best gins out there. Earthy juniper leads on the nose with grassy and mossy notes of the Northumberland moors. Bog myrtle's savoury–sweet notes give way to blackcurrants and their leaves. On the palate there's fennel and fir, coriander and lovage, all building to a finish that bursts with the cedar and sandalwood from the fresh, unripe juniper berries harvested by hand from the Hepple estate. Distiller Chris Garden (ex Sipsmith) employs three separate techniques — pot distillation, vacuum distillation and supercritical extraction — to bring out the best from his 12 different botanicals. The effect is to beam the moors right into your soul. This stupendous gin is at once classic and modern, quietly complex and thoroughly delicious any way you drink it — though the Martinis are to die for. Highly recommended and then some.

Martin Miller's
£28.98 from Master of Malt
40% ABV · Base: Wheat spirit, diluted with Icelandic spring water · Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Orange Peel, Angelica Root, Cassia, Cinnamon, Orris Root, Liquorice Root, Nutmeg

When I taste a gin the last part of the process is to come up with some kind of score. If a gin's getting up there in the marks I ask myself: what could this particular gin do to be any better than it already is? If I can't think of anything, then it maxes out. Top marks. Perfect score. This is one such. It's light and balanced on the nose but wonderfully complex also, with liquorice and lemon dancing around nutmeg and iris, plus cucumber over all like the sun from above. It's smooth on the palate, sweet and herbal at first, then warming rooty spice builds into floral orris–iris, before sending us on our way with a very long, very complex aftertaste of woody, drying spice, pine, angelica, liquorice and lemon again. A modern classic.

Beefeater
£21.50 from Waitrose
40% ABV · Base: Grain spirit · Botanicals: Juniper, Coriander Seed, Bitter Orange Peel, Lemon Peel, Almond, Angelica Root, Angelica Seed, Orris Root, Liquorice Root

Perhaps the archetypal London Dry Gin. It began life in Chelsea in the mid-1800s, and since 1958 has been made in Kennington, South London, hard by the Oval cricket ground. Beefeater has used the same recipe since 1876, a mix of nine classic botanicals that includes angelica in both seed and root form. It's clean on the nose, all juniper and oily orange peel at first, then over time developing a subtle floral undertone. On the palate there's a quiet complexity that creeps up on you. Juniper dominates, as you'd expect, but beneath that there's a warming balance of citrus and spice. There are plenty of other expressions to try, including Beefeater 24 (made with tea) and Beefeater Crown Jewel (strong, lots of grapefruit), but the classic London Dry remains a dependable cocktail workhorse.