Gin has a long and sometimes shady history. It is always associated with England, although it arrived there in 1688 along with King William of Orange, a Dutch king who was chosen to be the English king as well. Developed in the Netherlands as a stomach tonic, the original gin was a strongly juniper-flavoured spirit, but when it came to England, it came into its own. Not without a few problems along the way, of course. At first, no licence was needed to make gin, which meant thousands of ginmills popped up in London alone and the product was often mixed with such dodgy ingredients as turpentine and creosote to cover up the vile flavour. Cheap and readily available, it kicked off a long upsurge in crime as the poor of London sought money for gin and a brief respite from their cares. However, in the 1700s, the government of the time introduced taxes on gin and gradually the prices rose beyond the reach of the poor. It also improved the quality of the product immensely, as better-off customers demanded a cleaner, more sophisticated spirit. With the spread of the British Empire, gin also spread, becoming the drink of choice throughout the world. It developed into two distinct styles: London dry gin is a more austere, dry version of the spirit, while the Plymouth style developed into an oilier, sweeter style. But gin’s popularity wasn’t always assured. By the 1980s, gin was in something of a decline, perceived to be the province of maiden aunts and retired colonels. It wasn’t until the cocktail boom of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s that gin’s ascent became unstoppable. These days there are so many styles available that it can be confusing to know what to stock. With a plethora of premium gins available, it’s pleasing to see bartenders getting to grips with the individual qualities of each brand and often using different gins for different cocktails, as some will be more suitable for martinis, while others will make a better Tom Collins. This month, we’ve decided to take a new tack with the Panel tasting. Instead of simply trying each spirit neat and discussing its merits, we’re moving towards a more cocktail focused approach. To that end, we gathered together at the back room of Auckland’s Corner Store with two top bartenders and a couple of old hands to try the gins in cocktails. Where possible, we used the cocktail recipes submitted by the suppliers, but where we couldn’t make those we used the gins in cocktails that showed their best qualities. Joining me on this month’s panel were Julep’s Phil Meads, Thomas Vikario from Monin Liqueurs and long-time panellist Dave Batten. We’d like to thank Emma and her team at the Corner Store for the use of their bar and equipment for this tasting.

Click here to download the tasting notes as a PDF.