10 Of The Most Offbeat Gins You Must Try
Move over blue gins and pink gins, there are many more interesting gins from around the world that are now available in India that you might have bypassed in favour of your regular favourites. Well, we want you to mix things up, no pun intended, and have a look at these 10 different and slightly offbeat gins that are now available to purchase at your local liquor shop.
1 – Boodles British Gin
We can’t talk about gins and not include a British brand. Boodles British Gin is not just any gin brand though. This one is a premium gin that lends itself well to being served on formal occasions (stiff upper lip anyone?), and is most often enjoyed as a martini cocktail or a Boodles and Tonic. We’ll leave it to you to figure your best way of enjoying this British gin.
Price: INR 5800 for 700ml
2 – Christian Drouin Le Gin
A gold medal winner at 2021’s World Gin Awards (UK), Christian Drouin Le Gin is a gin for connoisseurs. A statement on their website says ‘Le Gin is the only gin incorporating 30 cider apple varieties and eight different aromatics’. One thing is for sure, this is the most apple-forward gin you’re going to taste from this list. The best way to have this gin is to add lots of ice, tonic water and of course, thin slices of apple in a glass and enjoy.
Price: INR 8600 for 750ml
3 – Hernö Sloe Gin
Made by multi-award-winning Swedish gin producers Hernö, this sloe gin is a Scandinavian take on a classically English spirit made with Swedish gin, organic sloe berries and local honey. This is a great gin to have as a sipping gin or a cocktail like French 75 with champagne added as a mixer. If you’ve always wanted to try a gin that’s much more than a gin, you need to try out Hernö Sloe Gin right away.
Price: INR 8600 for 500ml
4 – Colombo No7 Gin
A Sri Lankan take on a London Dry Gin in India? Hell yes! Add your favourite mixer, garnish with tropical favourite ingredient, curry leaves, and enjoy this 70-year old recipe that’s been making waves across the world. The first distillery in Sri Lanka was first used to make local favourite arrack before World War 2 meant that British soldiers were looking for gin that were made with local botanicals such as ginger, cinnamon and Sri Lankan curry leaves. No wonder then that drinking this gin is like taking a sip of history with it.
Price: INR 5600 for 700ml
5 – Cotswolds Ginger Gin
No holiday to the UK should be complete without a visit to the fabulous Cotswolds region. Similarly, no gin collection should be termed complete without the addition of Cotswolds Ginger Gin, the very definition of a winter gin with its ginger beer finish and the addition of ginger chocolates, root beer, orange zest and lime peel over fresh juniper. The golden-coloured gin has a rich and luxurious flavour profile accentuated with ginger and honey intermingling the palate. A must-try gin in our opinion.
Price: 12,900 for 500ml
6 – Dutch Courage Dry Gin
Made with grain spirit and mixed with some lovely herbaceous botanicals, Dutch Courage is a small batch gin from Holland that deserves some space on your liquor shelf. The full-bodied gin pairs particularly well with mixers and cocktails of your choice and the wonderfully named gin lends itself to a few stories over drinks without any extra effort.
Price: INR 8900 for 700ml
7 – Edinburgh Gin Apple And Spice
Imagine a spiced apple crumble soaked in gin and you begin to get an idea of what Edinburgh Gin Apple And Spice tastes like. This one is basically a gin liqueur that you can serve over ice or add to your favourite mixer and sip away in peace at the end of a long day. The winter-y combination of apple and spices like cinnamon will make you appreciate the change of season even more.
Price: INR 4700 for 500ml
8 – Rives Dry Gin
Probably the most affordable gin on this list, Rives is a Spanish gin that sources its botanicals from all over the world. Whether it’s Mediterranean juniper, Italian orris root, Belgian angelica root, Bulgarian coriander, Chinese liquorice, Philippine cassia and Spanish lemon and orange peels, a sip of Rives Dry Gin is like travelling and sipping botanicals from across the world. We recommend you get your hands on this one.
Price: INR 2900 for 750ml
9 – Silent Pool Rare Citrus Gin
Silent Pool is a Surrey-based brand with a tagline that goes “some of the World’s rarest and most intriguing citrus.” Some of these include Hirado Buntan, Natsu Dai Dai, Buddha’s Hand and Green Seville Orange. With no artificial flavours added in, Silent Pool Rare Citrus Gin boasts of a spirit that “balances bright and zesty with subtly sweet and blends enticingly rich with delicately spiced for a refreshingly distinctive and beautifully aromatic gin.” It’s something you need to sip to decide whether that’s true or not.
Price: INR 9900 for 700ml
10 – Tarquins Strawberry And Lime Gin
Tarquins Strawberry And Lime Gin contains a burst of strawberries and the addition of extra fresh lime zest in a gin that explodes with fruity flavours with slightly sweet and tart undertones. If you’ve been moaning about the lack of Pimm’s in India, this is an excellent alternative. While Tarquins has many other gin variants to choose from, we’re particularly taken in by their Strawberry and Lime version.
Price: INR 6450 for 335ml
Which gin are you going to try today? Let us know in the comments below.
(All prices are for Mumbai and are correct as of the date of publication)
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