The spirits recommendations threads are some of my favorites on TexAgs, but I couldn't find one on Gin. The first time I tried gin I thought it was awful. Fast forward about 15 years...I was recently in Salida, CO (ski trip to Monarch) and visited Wood's High Mountain Distillery. One of the spirits they make is gin. We were trying flights of their wares and I decided to add their Treeline Gin to the flight. Either my tastes have changed or they just make really good gin, but I really liked it. So now I'm on a quest to learn more about gin and find some different ones to try. My go to guy at Specs recommended Hendricks and The Botanist, with Bombay Sapphire as a good "typical" gin. So what say you great Food and Spirits Board? What are your faves and recommended gins to try?

I really like a gin gin mule. I've got no gin preferences though.

I no longer drink, but I loved Hendricks

New Amsterdam is a decent one for the mid-pricepoint

I like Hendricks and Boodles.

For something different in the gin family try Bols Genever.

jgh85Ag said:

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I like Hendricks and Boodles.

For something different in the gin family try Bols Genever.

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Holland razor blade is my favorite Genever cocktail.

Hendrick's is all rose and cucumber; you can't find the juniper. Just not my jam - especially at it's price.

Tanqueray and Beefeater are our daily drivers in Negronis, Aviations and Bijous. Citadelle for Corpse Revivers, #2 and Last Words.

We also mix in navy strength gins from Plymouth and Hayman's.

I plan on picking up some Portobello in May on a trip to London.

Pick up a bottle of Moody June Gin. It is made right here in Smithville and is very good.

My wife likes Hendricks. My boss gave me a bottle of Stirk's for Christmas, and it's great mixed with a little Topo Chico as long as you like nutmeg.

Gin is my drink of choice.

Hendricks and Monkey 47 are too floral for my taste. I want gin to taste like gin.

Beefeater is my daily drinking, straight forward dry gin. Good all-around.

Tanqueray is a slightly more expensive and slightly more juniper-heavy version of Beefeater. Good for gin and tonics.

Sapphire is a touch smoother and more balanced on the spectrum between dry/juniper and floral/citrus. My favorite for martinis, assuming you put little or no vermouth.

If you feel like you need to be trendy, Bluecoat is a small batch American dry gin that is similar to Sapphire. It does a lot of things well and is easy to drink for non-gin drinkers.

Old Raj is my favorite brand, but it is 110 proof and, thus, has some fire to it, so I wouldn't recommend it for an intro to gin. It has a slight yellow tinge because it is infused with saffron.

I would also concur with the response above that tonic matters. Schweppes is fine, but Fever Tree can change the game with any gin you use.

Thanks for all the responses so far! Of course, they aren't helping me win my battle of the bulge.

I'm not a gin drinker, but friends stationed in London became fans of Sipsmith gin. I brought some home to my gin-loving neighbor, and she loves it as well. I found it this weekend in the College Station Twin Liquors for $34 for a 750 ml bottle. You might want to give it a try...

sipsmith.com/

I concur with Beefeater for a good Gin and Tonic.

To up your tonic game, go with a tonic syrup and cut it with soda. I like this one: Jack Rudy

Bluecoat - what I usually drink.

Texmid said:

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Pick up a bottle of Moody June Gin. It is made right here in Smithville and is very good.

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Mix that with some Fever Tree and a squeeze of lime and you're in bidness.

Beefeater makes for a very good gin and tonic.

NATE AG03 said:

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I concur with Beefeater for a good Gin and Tonic.

To up your tonic game, go with a tonic syrup and cut it with soda. I like this one: Jack Rudy

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Jack Rudy changed my opinion of gin and tonics to being something I actually like. I honestly don't add the soda most of the time, because I don't keep it around. When I do, I just use the soda stream that the kids never use and carbonate some water instead.

Another thing I got from the same Alton Brown podcast that introduced me to that was to make cucumber simple syrup... boil half or so of a sliced cuc when making the syrup, retrieve the cucs, and refrigerate. Add to gin, soda, and a squeeze of lime, and it's a fantastic summery drink.

Yeah, that's the episode where I learned of Jack Rudy too. Forgot about the cucumber simple syrup though. Will definitely have to give that a try.

I drink a lot of gin (I used to buy handles of Hendricks by case) and the best gin I have ever had was Monkey 47. It is amazing. It is pricey but it is totally worth it. I don't even mix it with Tonic. I just drink it on the rocks.

Also, if you are making gin and tonics, do yourself a favor and get Fever Tree Tonic. It is much better than schwepps.

Bump to this old topic because I guess my pallet/taste buds changed in my new age bracket..I just started drinking gin late last year. For decades, I thought it was disgusting nonsense. Bombay Sapphire has been my go-to, because it was in the first cocktail I recently enjoyed at a restaurant in Houston. Tonight as I was buying it, the liquor store owner scoffed at it and said it wasn't any good. (No not specs- he wasn't pushing cheap exclusives label ****) I was a little confused because frankly I do not know what is good and what is not.

So now that I've been into gin for awhile, I'm revisiting this thread. Still a couple of reccs on here I haven't tried yet, but my fave so far (by far) is The Botanist. I always mix it with Fever Tree (Elderflower for the wife, any version for me). Thanks for the input so far...now let's get some more reccs!

I've got a bottle of Ford's gin and Plymouth I'm working through now. I like the Plymouth for gin and tonics, and the Ford's makes an excellent martini.

Try out a Genever if you don't want your guns too floral. These are something like a hybrid of gin and rye. It is the predecessor to what later became gin.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenever

Drinking Hendricks now.

Have Hendricks, Fords, Dripping Springs & Treaty Oak at the house as gin is my go to in the Summer before I move back over to whiskey/scotch into the fall.

That is all i drink when it comes to Gin. Mainly a summer liquor for me...I like it with sparking water and lime. Not an expert in the realm of gin by any means but I like it and I honestly don't plan to switch...

The best gin n tonic I ever had was at, ironically, at the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco. I asked the bartender what the secret was, it couldn't have been their own distilled gin they were promoting. He whipped out this small blue bottle:



Acid phosphate used to change the acidity(think limes) without affecting the taste. It was superb. Said only one liquor store in Austin carried it but you could buy it online.

Anyone have any experience with this?

Bumping this thread because I can't stand martinis! Loving the Gin and tonics right now- so far this would be my ranking:

Botinist.
Fords.
Tanquery.

Any other recommendations? Also- buying the diet tonic as trying to stay paleo and using a twist of lime.

Y'all speakin' my language now! I started infusing my own gin over the last year. I'm on my third batch. I had a handle of cheap well gin from western beverage I had around collecting dust so I pulled it out, threw some herbs and citrus in and let it sit for a week. I'm on batch #3 now and I've slowly evolved my recipe. The first 2 batches were the well gin. The 3rd was a Navy strength gin I purchased at Leanderthal distillery. I've been very pleased with my "projects".

Just starting to get into gin. Bourbon has been our thing but looking for something light for summer.

So far we've tried Botanist, the Bombay "East" and Monkey 47 & liked them all. I give a nod to the Monkey 47, but DAMN it's expensive - that said, unfortunately, bourbon has conditioned me to paying more for what I like.

Looking for Fords because it was recommended by a long time gin man and what he keeps on hand for mixing. Will definitely follow this thread to learn more about what to try.

Agree that the tonic is the make or break ingredient. Surprised to find empty places on the shelf for Fever Tree lately. I guess it'll be allocated like bourbon soon - kidding - but I used to pick it up at the grocery store & it's rarely in stock now. None at my Kroger or Target this past weekend. Strange.

If you like bourbon but are venturing into gin... you can't beat this:

https://www.waterloogin.com/antique



I made an Old Fashioned with it that was incredible. It really brings a complexity of (additional) flavor you don't get with a traditional gin.