Promotionally there’s not much to differentiate this bold flavour combination other than the bottle glass being a slight purple or dark pink colour. The taste requires a delicate tonic perhaps best without adding a vermouth and it rates rather well in comparison with some pink gins or varieties of sweeter pinks like Bosford from Asda and even Gordon’s pink which tastes a little on the cordial side. Whitley Neill’s is neither pink, nor sweetie cordial and has the benefit of a higher ABV to bolster its appeal. All in all it comes down to whether you appreciate the rhubarb & ginger flavour over the standard Whitley botanicals, and for me the answer was yes, very much so, and would I buy it again in favour of trying out a new gin, again yes.

Available at Sainsbury’s and Mirrisons inthe £20-£22 range.

“A London Dry Gin hitting the £20 to £22 mark. It has poppy, dragon eye, lotus leaves, citrus, almond and lavender; altogether 12 all-natural botanicals from 8 different countries. It’s made from wheat, on the proof limit at 40% ABV and distilled from 100% grain neutral spirit unlike the 96% that is the norm. Its perfumed aromas and deeper flavours of cassia and coriander makes the taste, for me, similar to Ophir. However, although the branding may suggest a new age modern British fad gin that has done well to get alongside the likes of Ophir and Portsmouth gins, Bulldog is hand crafted by an English distillery that has been making the highest quality gin for over 250 years. One could describe it as a balanced gin which is a generic term meaning it has been well blended, rather like a fine whisky. My first impression of Bulldog gin was that I enjoyed it very much and got through a few bottles before moving on to try something else.”

“A London Dry Gin from Aldi at £9.97 for a 70cl bottle. It’s been in the news recently for receiving a top award, leaving people bewildered at a supermarket gin coming anywhere close to traditional more established gins and lending to statements that Oliver Cromwell was officially voted the best gin in the world.

In fact in 2017, Judges at one of the most prestigious competitions of its type, the International Spirits Challenge, awarded Oliver Cromwell a silver medal. It doesn’t mean it came second in the competition, there were 9 gold awards and no less than 61 silver medals. But it does put it ahead of brands like Beefeater’s Burrough’s Reserve Gin which sells for a staggering £63.35 for the same-size 70cl bottle.

Waitrose Premium London Dry also received silver as did Tesco Finest Aromatic Gin, Marks and Spencer London Dry Gin and Castelgy London Dry Gin – Lidl Ireland. Indeed Tesco Finest London Dry Gin was one of the 9 awarded a gold.

Probably most notable is not so much the gin but the distiller. Oliver Cromwell is produced by the Essential Drinks Company, an alcohol manufacturer from Warrington in the North, and the same distiller behind gold winner Tesco Finest London Dry Gin. It’s also worth noting that these competitions are held yearly and therefore results differ and so it is not really a test of the best gins from best to worse but a certificate of merit awarded to gins of distinction.

For example, a big brand but standard London Dry Gin is Tanqueray produced by Diageo which won a gold medal, as did another Diageo brand Gordon’s London Dry Gin. But Tanqueray’s coveted No Ten regarded as a far superior gin was only awarded a silver.

The talk about Oliver Cromwell was more to do with its price which is down to Aldi UK having licence to produce it. In this context Oliver Cromwell from the Essential Drinks Company and from Aldi UK both received a silver medal, albeit one is cheaper than the other. It is because the Aldi bottle is below a tenner that it has received notoriety. Consider another product by Aldi UK, Topaz Blue Premium Gin which also received a silver medal but retails at £13.99 and did not receive half the applause.

However as far as quality goes, it has positioned itself alongside other silver award gins such as Beefeater, Bloom, Bathtub Gin, and Plymouth Gin. The International Spirits Challenge is nonetheless a respected competition due to the rigorous judging process and awards are coveted by distillers. Of Oliver Cromwell the experts opinion was that it had a ripe citrus aroma and a clear and crisp flavour.

The great news is that the results for the International Spirits Challenge 2018 are due to be published on 30th March 2018 on their website. If Oliver Cromwell is still on that list of winners then it will demonstrate this is a gin with legs.

As for my opinion of it. A bottle of Oliver Cromwell was given to me by a work colleague, thank you Ashley Osborne for such a great gift, I enjoyed every drop. Yes I would buy a bottle when next in Aldi which is the first question answered. I certainly will need another bottle to get a better appreciation of it as I thought there were some good and some not so good points.

Firstly, that sharp alcohol hit at the back of your throat that makes you go “arghhhh” when you knock it back straight, is not there in Oliver Cromwell. Because you don’t feel like you’re drinking fire water, you get the impression it’s not as potent as typical more established London Drys. This is a plus for me because the fire burn is what prevents me sampling gins straight, rather as you might with rums.

A negative point for me was that I struggled to taste the base flavours and only had that in the after taste. In this regard it’s a gin to drink simply just with lemonade. Indian tonic may overpower the delicacy with the quinine masking the base flavour. Don’t add a lemon slice or other garnish, as the citrus tones struggle to get through the gin in the first place, perhaps if any garnish then only cucumber may work. And finally if you’re making a martini or other cocktail, leave out the vermouth for the same reasons already mentioned.

In short, I thought this gin was delightful if kept simple, just add a base mixer for thinning and bubbles, don’t even add ice unless they are artificial plastic frozen cubes. How refreshing this would be on a hot day, but it takes discipline to keep it simple and the slightest error in preparation will mask the heart of this gin. In other words I felt the gin was perfect for a hot day if prepared in an exact way, otherwise my overall opinion is that it lacks complexity and guts, despite gin experts having awarding it such accolade, it would get 7 out of 10 from me because it’s too fragile, too delicate and possibly too cheap.

“This gin is a delightful addition to the Tesco spirits shelf, sitting among the £20 range, however today I picked a bottle up for just £15 (70cl), Bulldog too was reduced to just £15 and Tanqueray No10 down to £26, whatever next! I decided to try this nicely bottled creation from J.J. Whitley partly down to the nice bottle and partly due to the decent price.

The JJ range is a new brand from Johnny Neill, the producer of Whitley Neill Gin. His grandmother’s family company was Greenall Whitley – originally behind the G&J Greenalls distillery and breweries. JJ Whitley was Johnny’s great grandfather and Managing Director of Greenall’s. This is where the JJ range takes its inspiration, unlike Whitley Neill Gins that follow Johnny’s wife’s South African heritage.

Whitley’s have been distilling for eight generations so they know a thing or too about it so the first notation on this gin is that it is made in a copper pot still, which as you know means it’s therefore not a London Dry Gin. Being that copper stills retain more of the base flavour it’s the next point to note that the gin has a hint of yellow colour to it unlike the customary clearness of London Drys.

The two points mentioned above would suggest a well-made, well-blended and well-thought-out batch of gin. Indeed for the elderflower to keep its prominence, it sits atop soft scents of juniper, coriander and cinnamon which the distillers say gives a sweet velvety sensation and a fresh floral bouquet.

In all there are eight botanicals, presumably one in acknowledgement for every generation of distiller. This lends a variety of taste sensation from notes of honey to grassiness and orange blossom. When popping the cork you take in wonderful summery notes. The botanicals have been balanced perfectly to give the nose and palate the sensation of summer. It can take a slice of lemon and is equally well at home mixed with a sparkling wine or a tonic.

It’s an elderflower gin with a complexity that keeps the elderflower above the other botanicals and you can imagine drinking it whilst also enjoying a bowl of strawberries. I can think of no other that would make the perfect entry gin for someone tasting gin for the first time, and just a tad of tonic brings out the incredible floral notes. I’m not sure what cocktails bartenders will come up with but it’s possibly a gin where ice and a splash are the only additions needed. It gets a 9 out of 10 from me because it has a floral complexity that I understand and it makes its presence felt. It’s a gin you will remember and want to get again.”

The standard Tanqueray of old is a pretty good all round popular gin having won awards around the globe. If you watch Eastenders, when Ian Beale had a selection of spirits on the side, it was a bottle of Tanqueray gin that you could easily identify.

No10 is marketed as the premium flavour of the brand although I prefer the original. The price is in the £30 range and reflects the over-proof ABV, but it is made in small batches, named after the No.10 still in which it is made.

I had been waiting for ages to try it, but the mystery for me was its claim of an abundance of botanical flavours, yet I found it to be crisp and clear and rather tasteless, rather like drinking fresh clean clear water direct from a spring.

Maybe I’m just not that good at tasting or I’m missing the point with this gin, but for the price I didn’t get the same satisfaction as other competitors in this price range such as Japanese Roku or Silent Pool.

Originally made in 1830 by Charles Tanqueray, the timeless recipe is still used today, it has Angelica, Chamomile, Coriander, Grapefruit, Juniper, Lemongrass, Liquorice, Orange, orange blossom and is a staple of cocktails around the world.

Tanqueray launched this high end version in 2000 distilled on a small still heated by steam. It is distilled in ‘one shot’ which means it comes from the still at the intended strength and not at excessively high strength that would require a watering down stage.

It won many awards during the 2000s and established itself as a gold standard. It’s primarily designed to be citrus rich, negating the slice of lemon or lime in the glass, yet I couldn’t taste any citrus, say like with Malfy or Slipmith gins.

Two words mark out this gin in reviews ‘subtle and complex’. A strange concept for me, it’s either subtle or complex right? What I can say is that it has clear notes, and perhaps grapefruit is the predominant flavour I can just about distinguish, seeing as Tanqueray No10 contains both red and white grapefruit.

The pine and coriander notes escaped me, as did the jasmine, orange and lime. Perhaps I’m just a Philistine, so I don’t get the claim that it is the perfect gin for a Martini and Aviation. I’ve enjoyed many other brands in a Martini that were far more discernible than No10.

So if you just want straightforward gin and tonic, and why ever not, then this gin is probably a bit pricey, overrated and there are better gins out there to try. But if your venturing towards the art of the cocktail then perhaps No10 offers a crisp and classic ingredient, and perhaps all that citrus really does make the difference, don’t take my word for it, try it out.

My view was mixed, I don’t know if I really like it or not. It may be taking a back seat due to all the rich varieties out there, for example Asda’s own pink gin and even Gordon’s rose tastes so sweet it’s like raspberry cordial. When the gin honeymoon fades, gins such as Tanqueray No10 will come through.

Sipsmith, London Dry Gin distillers from London.

Sipsmith produce a standard and excellent gin flanked by two variants, lemon and orange. The Orange and Cacao bottle is unashamedly shouting about its orangeness, from the cap and labelling to the orange tinge of the gin, in contrast to Tanqueray Sevilla which is more of an Irn Bru colour.

The Sipsmith distillery launched in 2009. They are trailblazers in that up to their beginning, smaller distillers were not allowed to distill in small batches, Sipsmith changed that. They were the first to use a copper distillery in London for 200 years.

Sipsmith Orange & Cacao is their sixth product. The first was their London Dry, they also made a juniper rich or VJOP; Very Junipery Over Proof gin. They make a sloe gin and then there’s Lemon Drizzle gin. they also make a summer drink similar to a Pimms.

The cacao gives it an edge of chocolate, so perhaps a little reminiscent of a liqueur inside a small chocolate. Cacao nibs are small pieces of cacao beans and are extremely intense in flavour and slightly bitter. this is one of those gins you can comfortably drink neat.

Sipsmith have perfected the art of an orange flavour in gin. Open the bottle and the smell is strong, orange and zesty as you might expect. When you pour tonic into the glass it releases the flavours and fills the glass with orange aroma.

To the taste there’s a hint of marmalade. You can even add 50ml to your hot chocolate. Like Sipsmith say; “Chocolate Orange isn’t just for eating.”

Citrus gins are nothing new, but this one demonstrates the sheer confidence of Sipsmith to put something this bold out there. It’s truly original and modern and worth a try.

Malfy make an original gin, this lemon one and an orange one ‘con arancia’ all at 41% ABV. They’re in the £28 range and available widely, also at M&S Archway.

Malfy is made on the Amalfi coast, from Italian Juniper, Sicilian lemons cut with Italian Spring Water, coriander, angelica and cassia bark.

The result is a very refreshing gin, very citrus fresh, with woody notes from the juniper. The ideal companion for any unflavoured Indian tonic water. Especially suited for a Negroni and a garnish of Rosemary is said to accentuate the nose.

Old Tom Gin is sweeter gin the usual. It goes back to the time when gins could be pretty fould tasting and sharp and therefor sugar was added. The high standards of gin making no longer require sweetening, but Old Tom Gins remain popular.

This one from Poetic Licence is made using no sugar – all the sweetness is produced by the liquorice root, but they remain true to the historic way of production by using a mid 19th century recipe and oak barrels for ageing and developing the sweetness.

It’s flavoured with rose petals to soften the character and accentuated by Indonesian cubeb peppers. The other botanicals used are Juniper, Angelica root, Liquorice, and sweet and bitter oranges. And comes in one of the loveliest bottles you’ll find.

They also make Fireside Gin with a sweetness coming from dried winter fruits. Also their Northern Dry Gin has 13 botanicals predominantly Juniper, Angelica Root and Coriander Seeds, with underlying Cardamom, Cubeb berries and Persian lime and described as a gin for gin lovers.

Coming Soon

As the name implies, this is a gin from Wales and diluted with water from the Brecon Beacons. The by-line on the label says ‘From the four corners of the world’.

Penderyn are another small batch distillery and originally produced gin for the Spanish gin craze. It’s in the £25 range so competing with the likes of Portobello Road and Sipsmith London Dry.

My first taste was a miniature that was part of a gin tasting box of 31 gins. Apart from some gins listed here already such as Sipsmith Orange and Cacao, two gins stood out for me to try again; Rock Rose and Brecon.

Botanicals include Clove, Cinnamon, Lemon and Dried Tea and of course juniper and coriander to the fore, that’s why I like it so much. Crisp, clean and smooth.

Rock Rose Gin is made at the Dunnet Bay Distillery in the very north of Scotland in Caithness, probably Britain’s most northerly mainland distillery. It was established in 2014 by husband and wife team, Martin and Claire Murray having been involved in distilling since their university days in Edinburgh.

It features an unusual line up of 18 botanicals; from five locally harvested, Rhodiola Rosea, Rowan Berries, Sea Buckthorn, Blaeberries, and Verbena, as well as the standard Coriander Seed and Cardamom. It’s thought the Vikings gathered Rhodiola rosea on the cliffs believing it would give them the extra strength.

Martin and Claire combined Rhodiola rosea with juniper, and once distilled it adds a delicate rose aroma to taste. They vapour infuse all the botanicals in a steam basket at the neck of their custom made copper pot stil.

For me, juniper rich gins such as Hendrick’s stand out above others when I taste them. The juniper in Rock Rose come to the fore and comes from two different countries: Italy and Bulgaria.

Does it rival that other famous gin from Scotland, namely Hendrick’s – yes I think so. I didn’t know it was Scottish when I tried it from a miniature taster pack over Christmas but it was one of two that I wanted to look out for in a larger bottle size. It truly does not disappoint and the bottle is quite nice too.

The price range is over £30, so it’s setting itself slightly above rival Hendrick’s and others such as Tanqueray No10 or Bathtub Old Tom Gin – on price anyway. Presumably the marketing strategy is that sitting on the same shelf buyers will assume it is slightly better quality, whether Rock Rose is superior to others in the £30 range is debatable.

Waitrose was the first UK supermarket to launch this Japanese gin, which is distilled by Suntory a Japanese whiskey maker.

The makers say the gin blends four seasons together with with each key botanical being harvested at the peak of its season for optimum flavour.

Roku means six in Japanese and refers to the six unique botanicals and also reflected in the beautifully designed hexagonal bottle.

The six unique botanicals are the Sakura flower (cherry blossom) and Sakura leaf harvested in Spring, the Sencha tea (green tea) and Gyokuro tea in Summer, the Sanshō pepper in Autumn and the Yuzu peel in Winter.

Eight traditional botanicals complement: juniper berries, coriander, angelica root, angelica seed, cardamom, cinnamon, bitter orange peel and lemon peel.

It’s a very authentic and refreshing gin.

The first thing about Hampstead is the lovely bottle. At first it looks rather chunky like a medicine bottle perhaps and a bit dated but on closer inspection the word Hampstead is embossed on both sides, and inbossed on front and back. The bottle is of thick green glass and feels good in the hand. This is no medicine bottle but a well designed container.

And guess where you buy it, at Lidl. Yes it’s widely sold in Germany as a great British gin. However here at home we only know it as a gin only sold at Lidl. There isn’t even any info about it on the Lidl website.

It sits in that £10 for 50cl range. Considering the nice bottle it isn’t too surprising that the gin itself was good. Store brands tend to be of superb quality, take Aldi’s award winning Oliver Cromwell gin as an excellent example.

I finished the bottle thinking, ‘hmm I quite liked that.’

This gin will divide opinion. There’s no doubting its superior strength at 47% ABV but as far as tasting, it was rather nonplus for me. I really wanted to enjoy it, it’s won awards, and it proudly sports the byline ‘world’s best gin’ under the logo.

Then there’s the try-too-hard to be British as if the word ‘London’ on all distilled dry gins wasn’t enough recognition. Add to this the name ‘Brokers’ because two guys that worked as brokers ion the City decided to make gin, and the little plastic bowler hat atop the bottle cap – and well, cut to the chase the gin ain’t that good mate.

probably the worst gin I have ever tasted. No, for sure it’s the worst. This Rosé Gin from Asda is made with natural strawberry flavour and a hint of raspberry. The fact they spell flavour without the ‘u’ on their website is a reminder that this once UK supermarket with headquarters in Leeds was bought by US giant Walmart in 1999.

It tastes like drinking raspberry cordial with added sugar. You get the impression your teeth are being stained red and to be perfectly honest you can’t wait for the bottle to finish. it’s not quite cough medicine but that image does float in your head.

Somewhat surprising to learn then, that it is made by Martini & Rossi of Torino, Italy. If you deconstructed this blend and took just the London Dry Gin with perhaps the tiniest of natural strawberry flavouring, then and only then would I consider drinking it again, but then why would you, when almost everything else is a more preferable alternative.

If I were writing a history of a gin company then Greenhalls’s would probably be the best example to use. Britain’s oldest distillers lending the word ‘original’ as the byline to the title on their bottles.

In 2018 our distillery, G&J Greenall’s, was awarded Gin Producer of the Year by the International Spirits Challenge. Even the Greenhall’s website is a wonderful creation.

Take these extracts from the website:

THE INGREDIENTS: Before the distillation begins the botanicals are added by hand to our copper still along with a mixture of grain neutral spirit and water sourced from the foothills of the local Cheshire Plains. The botanicals are then rested in the spirit and water to allow the flavours to infuse.

THE DISTILLATION: Using steam, the liquid is heated until it vaporises, taking all the essential oils and aromas of the botanicals. The vapour is cooled, condensed, and collected as a concentrated spirit.

THE HEARTS: Only the ‘heart’ of the distillate is chosen to create our gin. Any residual liquids (the ‘heads’ and the ‘tails’) which are created at the start and the end of the process are discarded.

The collection of gins are truly remarkable and I aim to try them all; Wild berry pink gin, blueberry gin, blood orange gin, extra reserve London Dry Gin. As for the bog standard original London Dry Gin, there’s nothing ‘bog standard’ about it, it has those rounded juniper notes that I love, citrus flavours and woody notes. What’s not to love.

They make it at 171 Portobello Road, it takes nine months, and has nine botanicals: juniper. coriander seed, angelica root, orris root, lemon peel, orange peel, liquorice root, cassia bark and nutmeg.

It’s probably the fundamental ingredient base that every gin should have and as such Portobello Road cannot be judged as any other than a great tasting gin.

The website is great with a section on recipes showing you how to make perfect cocktails like the Portobel;lo Road Martini, Tom Collins, Mojito, Red Snapper and a couple of good old G&Ts.

As well as the popular Portobello Road Gin No. 171 they also make a few surprising gins that you may not have heard about: Temperance Gin, Butter Gin, Portobello Gin Navy Strength (57.1% ABV).

Sitting on the shelf at £25 for a 70cl bottle, I can’t say I note much difference between similar gins slightly less pricey like Portsmouth Gin or Bulldog Gin. It’s a staple in places like M&S and has a close association with Fever Tree so perhaps this gin will last the test of time.

I look forward to trying the Celebrated Butter Gin, sitting slightly higher on the shelf at £30. To quote from the website: ‘To create Celebrated Butter Gin, we use our London Dry recipe, which is then put back in to our copper stills with blocks of unsalted butter, giving the gin a smooth, creamy mouth feel.’

Warner Edwards, or just Warner’s as the re-branding is now, is a bit of a mixed bag. No one can deny the quality of gin and the wide range, kind of like Whitley Neill, but one wonders at their product meetings if the phrase ‘subtle flavour’ entered the arena or have they become naive at the expense of flavour.

What I mean is that rhubarb gin doesn’t have to actually taste like liquidised rhubard, just a hint is all. It’s not as strong as Bosford which is almost a cordial, but perhaps a better balance is required, at least to my taste anyway.

Warner’s Rhubard Gin I can just about cope with, the blueberry variant though is horrendous. Warner gins do come in interesting flavours, there’s honeybee gin, lemon balm gin, raspberry, elderflower and plain old Harrington original gin, but the presence of flavour doesn’t feel part of the distillation process, rather like cordial flavouring has been added to a perfectly good base gin.

Even so, I still want to try Honeybee, Lemon balm, elderflower and raspberry. But perhaps the best discovery about Warner’s is that their original award winning plain gin is still the best. Harrington Dry Gin is 44% ABV with 11 botanicals with strong sweet notes of cardamom and nutmeg.

It’s a shame that the artisan gins I’ve tried did not suit me, but Harrington is good and I have yet to try the rest. Although Raspberry Gin I imagine to be again over-powered, there are blackberries and elderflower in it and together make up one third of the volume. The Lemon Balm Gin is made with lemon verbena, lemon balm and lemon thyme, sounds weird but I want to try it.

I give Warner’s Rhubard Gin just 5 out of 10 – but you may strongly disagree.

In my journey of gin tasting I was most looking forward to trying Tanqueray No10 and Silent Pool. Well here I am finally with a beautiful bottle of Silent Pool Gin. The main family includes; Silent Pool Gin, Silent Pool Rare Citrus Gin and Silent Pool Rose Expression Gin. They even make a hemp gin called Colorado High.

All three gins mentioned can be purchased as a pack. Probably you would never try the other two if this were not the case. So it’s a good idea to get a cross sampling of Silent Pool gins. As for me, I just saw a bottle at M&S and waited for the right day to purchase one.

At first I thought the same as I had for Tanqueray No10, which is ‘what’s all the fuss about.’ It’s so clear that it almost feels like pure ethanol, until you study it more intensely. After all it’s the subtlety of flavour that I have grown to like most, and so in looking for it you then realise why it’s so highly lauded.

Like Hendrick’s they make a song and dance about making their gin in small batches, but what is small to a national or global distiller is still huge scale production to the likes of us. More of a wonder to me is how gins with so many botanicals, Silent Pool 24, Hendrick’s 28, can be so crisp and clear. Tanqueray N010 at least has only 10.

Silent Pool has another feature, it’s English, handcrafted in the Surrey hills, on the Duke of Northumberland’s Albury Estate. Silent Pool actually exists. A wood fire boiler was created by a German company situated near Lake Constance and the stills came from the Vipara Valley in Slovenia.

It certainly has a good balance, the botanicals include kaffir lime, chamomile, local honey and lavender, resulting in a subtly sweet and intricate balance. But it’s still juniper driven and it actually does take the water from the Silent Pool.

I would certainly buy it again but like Tanqueray No10 there are other less expensive gins that I would equally feel at home with. It’s an 8 out of 10 from me.

Feckin unbelievable Irish gin is a gin with citrus and herbaceous notes and juniper and coriander undertones. At first you would be forgiven for thinking it a novelty gin; something invented to ride on the 21st Century gin craze and floating on the Irish label – but the proof is in the tasting and Fecking Irish Gin has a subtlety that I like. It’s easy to get through a bottle.

A delicious citrus scented gin with the distinctive flavour of grapefruit, Made with distilled pink grapefruit. Firstly M&S put a £13 price tag on it, then it goes off the shelves for months and returns with a £16 label. What on earth are they thinking of?

I have to say straight off, that of all the gins on my journey so far, by far this is the best and my absolute favourite. The bottle is just 500ml. the marketing on Ocado states ‘ This original and distinctive French gin has been specially selected for M&S.’ And in fact it’s produced and bottled in France.

It’s sister bottle is a pink gin which I have tried and not been overwhelmed enough to include on this page, but the pink grapefruit gin is marvellous and refreshingly unique and I give it a rating of 10 out of 10!

Hendrick’s describe it as ‘a most unusual gin’. It falls into the class of juniper rich gins where juniper is not only the dominant flavour as is required for all gins but remains the dominant flavour. Preserving the juniper over 11 botanicals is no easy feat.

The gin is produced in the tiny seaside village of Girvan in Scotland and distributed across the world. they claim that no other gin is made like it because of the small batches and the type of still used. But like all other gins I’ve tried, the proof is in the drinking.

Juniper rich will always get my attention, if I wanted something else I would buy liqueurs. But Hendrick’s does more than make the mark as the many awards will attest. It is a pleasure to buy and open a bottle, something to be done now and then as a treat.

The predominant flavours are rose petal from the Bulgarian rosa domascena and cucumber. This gin says subtlety and perfection.

Brewdog Lonewolf gin places itself in the £30 range on the Marks & Spencer shelf. Take away that you are obviously stooped into paying extra for the privilege of buying from these brands, without the Brewdog/M&S combination the gin would be closer to it’s worth, around £24 comparable with Whitley Neill

To add weight to its claim nearer the £28 mark, it would appear to rival or be comparable with Hendrick’s juniper rich Scottish gin. It’s worth noting that this is not whisky, and gin made in Scotland is not necessarily superior. However, Lonewolf does at least set itself slightly apart with the use of Tuscan juniper, as opposed to common juniper, Serbian Juniperus communis.

Common juniper comes from Asia, Europe and North America, whereas Tuscan juniper is preferred by distillers like Bombay Sapphire and Fynbos gin as it’s grown by hand and considered premium for its peppery and spicey nodes. The best Juniper berries are regarded by some to come from just outside Florence where Juniper berries grow wild at altitude in an ideal microclimate.

Common juniper gives gin a pine-like flavour. so some distillers prefer the peppery notes of Tuscan juniper. However, Lonewolf use Tuscan juniper and the label boasts Scots pine – ‘lavender and citrus notes run alongside a forage of feral pine needles’.

The predominant flavours in Hendrick’s are Bulgarian rose petals and cucumber and with Lonewolf it’s pine and citrus; so they are distinct. The orris root in Lonewolf grows alongside the Tuscan juniper but it is the remaining ingredients I find strange.

For example, it’s established that the peppery of Tuscany was preferred over the piney of Serbia, yet Scots pine is added, and so too is pink peppercorn. It’s like the distiller wanted the best of both worlds, enhanced. Then Lavender is added to enhance the Scots forest aspect. Finally the strong arm of Almonds is added – why?

As well as the standard botanicals coriander, cardamom and angelica, the combination of base flavours with enhanced juniper forest flavours, also vie with a battalion of citruses; grapefruit peel, lemon peel, lemongrass and kaffir lime. And then there’s mace!

My review on Lonewolf has been all about the ingredients, I can’t seem to see the logic of the combinations, is the distiller trying to cover all angles, if you like pepper this has it, if you want pine this has it most, if you love citrus we have all the flavours here, and so on. Or is it just a pot pourri or lucky dip.

I really can’t tell if this gin is overkill or genius, but in the end it all comes down to the taste and whether you agree the product justifies the price.

In this regard when you open the bottle and take a good sniff it’s no different to any medium range gin or supermarket brand, for all the hype of citrus and pine, there’s nothing much citrusey to the nose, or anything else for that matter.

Take a swig and at first the citrus is there, followed by an earthy after-taste which presumably is the Scots forest, but the pepper, the lavender, the almond or the mace is hard to identify. Why not just call it vodka and have done.

Not a favourite by any stretch, I won’t be getting it again, did not enjoy it one bit. Not even a decent effort from Brewdog, they should stick with what they are good at, craft beer and pale ales. 1/10.