Different types of gin— explained
With the growth in popularity of gin over the past 15 years there has naturally been a massive growth in the different types of gin available on the market so we thought that it might be cool to clear up some of the mystique.
Three Broad Legal Categoroies
A good place to start is the to note the legal classifications of gin which actually refer to a process rather than a Gin style. For example if you created a London Dry Gin and then added a colouring to it , you could no longer legally call it London Dry Gin.
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It should also be noted that in order to label it as "Gin", it must have a minimum strength of 37.5% ABV
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London Dry Gin
London gin is obtained exclusively from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with a maximum methanol content of 5 grams per hectolitre of 100% ABV equivalent, whose flavour is introduced exclusively through the re-distillation in traditional stills of ethyl alcohol in the presence of all the natural plant materials used, the resultant distillate of which is at least 70% ABV. London gin may not contain added sweetening, exceeding 0.1 gram of sugars per litre of the final product, nor colorants, nor any added ingredients other than water. London Gin is not coloured.
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Distilled Gin
Distilled gin is produced exclusively by redistilling ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with an initial strength of 96% ABV in stills traditionally used for gin, in the presence of juniper berries and of other natural botanicals, provided that the juniper taste is predominant.
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Compound Gin
This is a juniper-flavoured spirit made not via the re-distillation of botanicals, but by simply adding approved natural flavouring substances to a neutral spirit of agricultural origin. The predominant flavour must be juniper.
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Now that we have the legal stuff out of the way we can look at the different styles 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.
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.
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.
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 flavoured 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.