My Top 5 Gins

Over the past few years I have become somewhat of a gin connoisseur, partly aided by my gin loving mum.  Growing up I hated gin, looking back it’s probably because I tried my mums drink and she had about 3 shots of gin in there or just very little mixer!  I don’t like tonic at all, I have tried the Mediterranean tonic water, which is slightly better because it’s got less quinine in, I can tolerate it but wouldn’t choose to drink it.  Generally I have lemonade with my gin, sometimes ginger ale or a rose lemonade if I’m feeling a bit fancy!

I’m very lucky that my mum loves Gin so much that she has a very good selection.  By very good, I mean very good!

I’ve never been a big drinker, but nowadays I like having a gin at the weekend to help me wind down and relax after what is usually a busy, tiring week chasing Oliver around!  I thought I would share my top 5 gins as I know gin is definitely the mummy’s drink of choice!

1. Silent Pool Gin

Silent Pool gin is made just down the road from where I live, at the Silent Pool in Albury, Surrey.  It’s a delicious gin that you can sip neat (if you wanted) and has a very smooth taste to it.  It is a hand crafted gin, distilled and bottled on site using water from the pool.  The bottle design is so beautiful, it is definitely one that you could display proudly in your home! The distillers also make a few different Gins and gin cordials which are also all amazing to taste!

2. Pinkster Gin

I first tried this at the gin festival in the summer, I first fell in love with it because of its beautiful distinct pink colour; this is because they use raspberries in the distilling process to colour and flavour it (which you can also buy as Boozy berries!) it tastes so nice, yet again another you could easily sip. If you haven’t tried this yet, put it on your list!

3. Poetic License Old Tom Gin

Another I tasted at the gin festival.  It is more of a traditional gin, heralding back to the original gin recipes from times of old.  This gin is barrel aged, giving it quite a distinctive flavour, great paired with a ginger ale.  Poetic License have some great Gins, and are worth checking out.

4. Tanqueray Rangpur

This is my mums standard gin of choice, so it had to make the top 5 as it’s generally the one I drink if I go around to see her.  I recently found out that Tanqueray is actually made by the same company as Gordon’s!  The Rangpur Gin has citrus notes from the Rangpur lime and Indian type of lime.  It goes perfectly with a lemonade.

5. Brockmans Gin

My mum brought this one home from the gin festival in 2015 after trying it there.  They use blueberries and blackberries to give it quite a smooth and great taste. The taste is distinctively different from others I have tried and It is worth trying.

So they you go, my top 5! Obviously I still drink the standard gins too (Gordon’s and Bombay Sapphire) but I do really enjoy finding new craft gins to try, helping these small business grow and gain a following, rather than putting more money in the bigger brands (already giant) pockets!  I have found Gin festivals are a great place to discover and try new gins, as a lot aren’t aren’t available on the high street.

Have you got a favourite I haven’t mentioned here? Or a recommendation to try out? Let me know, I would love to hear them!