Types of gin
Classic Style Gins
Classic style gins are juniper forward and tend to evoke comparison’s to Gordon’s, Beefeater, and Tanqueray. Classic Gin refers only to the general juniper-forward taste impression and not any specific process or ingredient list.
[Hundreds of Classic style gins reviewed!]
Contemporary Style Gins
Contemporary Gins are gins which have a predominant flavor of anything other than juniper. Juniper is always present, but the gin overall may have a character which emphasizes other botanicals. Contemporary Gin refers to the taste, and is agnostic of region, production method or actual botanical bill.
[Hundreds of contemporary style gins reviewed!]
Aged or barrel-rested gins
Aged Gins as a category of their own are a relatively new invention. They were largely a product of the 00’s-10’s gin renaissance and a glut of used barrels on the second hand market. Today’s aged gins use wine barrels, bourbon barrels, rye barrels— anything.
[Over 50 barrel-rested gins reviewed!]
Old Tom Style Gins
Old Tom is one of the most confusing terms in the world of gin. There is little consensus as to what constitutes an Old Tom Gin.
Some are sweetened, some are not. But generally they are going to be more strongly flavored than other dry gins.
Navy Strength Gins
The term “Navy Strength Gin” is a 1990s marketing creation to sell spirits which meet 100° UK Proof (114 modern proof), and are 57.1% ABV. The romantic and evocative term has stuck and today, high proof gins are often bottled at 57.1 ABV.
Bathtub or Compounded Gins
The bathtub style refers to a gin where all of the botanicals are added via maceration without distillation. There are many gins which add signature botanicals or aromatics after distillation. These would not be described as bathtub gin.
Pink Gin
Not to be confused with the cocktail of the same name, Pink Gins were a creation that took off in the late 2010’s. These gins are often bright pink in hue, with often bright fruity or floral flavors. Berry is the most common; however, a wide variety exists even within this category.
Holland-style Gin
Holland— or Holland style gins— is a way some have referred to some modern Ginever or Genever-like gins. Which while not true genevers, they adopt some of the stylistic conventions
Other categories of juniper spirit we review
Genever
is rarely considered as gin, but it’s worth being thought of as the grandfather of gin. It is the spirit drink from which gin descended.
Borovička
Borovicka is a traditional Slovak distilled spirit made from juniper. It has a flavor very similar to gin and some Borovička could be legally classified as gin based on gin’s broad definitions.
Gin-like drinks below 37.5% ABV
Liqueurs and Cordials
Gin Liqueurs and Cordials are a broad and rapidly expanding category of the gin market. In some parts of the world, gin liqueurs are sometimes mis-labeled as gin; however, here we categorize by what is in the bottle.
Non-alcoholic “gin.
Technically the only thing gin about these drinks is the reference point. They aim to emulate the flavor of gin while having no alcohol. Legally, these drinks cannot be called gin; however, many market themselves as such.