Whether you prefer a dry martini or a refreshing gin and tonic, your gin of choice defines the cocktail. If you love gin, you know how it can unfold like a story with each sip: Juniper is the main character, while spices, citrus, and other aromatics play the supporting roles.
We believe there’s a gin for almost any imbiber, even the folks who think they don’t like it. If you’re turned off by assertive, sprucy gins, we have a pick for you that’s smooth and bright. If you like old pine boxes in dusty attics and want to capture that sensory experience in a glass, we have a gin for you, too.
And we included a couple of bottles that we believe are true all-purpose gins, meaning they mix exceptionally well into three of the most common gin cocktails: a dry martini, a gin and tonic, and a Negroni.
Our favorite all-purpose gins
The best all-around gin
Broker’s London Dry Gin
$22 from Total Wine & More
An assertive yet balanced gin that shone in dry martinis, gin and tonics, and Negronis.
The jaunty hat-shaped cap on the Broker’s bottle may seem silly, but the gin inside is serious stuff. It hits you with a blast of juniper up front, followed by crisp citrus, expressive spice, and grounding root flavors. Broker’s London Dry Gin commands a full sensory experience: assertive yet smooth, punchy yet balanced. Out of all the gins we tasted, it made our favorite dry martini, gin and tonic, and Negroni.On top of being delicious and incredibly versatile, Broker’s London Dry Gin costs, on average, $5 to $10 less for a 750-milliliter bottle than most of the gins we tasted.
Botanicals: juniper, coriander, cinnamon, cassia bark, angelica root, orris root, licorice, nutmeg, lemon peel, orange peel
What we like it in: a martini, a gin and tonic, and a Negroni
Where it’s made: England
A classic gin
Beefeater London Dry Gin
$22 from Total Wine & More
While not as punchy as Broker’s, this classic, aromatic gin still showed up well in all the cocktails we tested.
Compared with Broker’s gin, Beefeater isn’t as punchy or heavy on the juniper. After a light hit of juniper and spruce up front, Beefeater London Dry Gin transcends into earthy sweetness. An excellent example of a classic London Dry gin that isn’t showy or gimmicky, Beefeater’s aroma slowly opens up as you drink. Earthiness gives way to floral and citrus notes on the finish. It’s truly one of the most versatile gins we tasted. In a martini, dry vermouth brings out this gin’s lighter floral notes. But Beefeater maintains a strong presence in a gin and tonic through the finish, where others seem to fade. And that assertiveness also lets this gin stand up to the bitter Campari and sweet vermouth in a Negroni. You just know there’s gin in that glass.
Botanicals: juniper, Seville orange peel, lemon peel, almond, angelica root, coriander, angelica seed, orris root, licorice
What we like it in: a martini, a gin and tonic, and a Negroni
Where it’s made: England
A more assertive gin
A spicy, unctuous gin
Beefeater 24
$36 from Total Wine & More
Not for entry-level gin drinkers, this one hits with intensity and heat, and has an almost oily finish.
While drinking her Beefeater 24 martini, Tammie said, “This is my dad’s gin. A textbook London Dry with serious presence.” At first sip, you’re hit with intense spice, spruce, and heat—then the full complexity of the gin fills your entire palate and finishes strong. The mouthfeel is almost oily (again, in a good way). Beefeater 24 is not entry-level gin. This gin is for people who love strong flavor and heat. There’s the saying that two martinis are not enough, and three are too many. Well, two Beefeater 24 martinis might be too many, depending on the number of bold and unctuous spirit-forward cocktails your palate can handle. But you can make your second drink a Beefeater 24 gin and tonic, where the ingredients blend into a harmonious and refreshing beverage with nice bitterness and a snappy finish.
Botanicals: Japanese sencha tea, Chinese green tea, grapefruit peel, juniper, lemon peel, Seville orange peel, almond, coriander, licorice, angelica root, orris root, angelica seed
What we like it in: a martini, a gin and tonic, and a Negroni
Where it’s made: England
A smooth, nuanced gin
An earthy, floral gin
Plymouth Original Strength Gin
$31 from Total Wine & More
A more grounded, seamless spirit that’s beautiful in a martini, but gets washed out in gin and tonics or Negronis.
The sweet, earthy flavor that angelica and orris roots provide helps play down the juniper in Plymouth Gin (don’t worry, you can still taste the juniper!). The result is a more grounded spirit. To me, Plymouth has the most seamless flavor profile. Individual flavors don’t jump out as much as they do with other gins. The recipe and craftsmanship here seem to be focused on balance, but not in a way that every individual flavor has equal standing. It’s rooty, citrusy, spicy, and floral—with zero bitterness. This gin is smooth and delightful. In a martini, the dry vermouth brightens up Plymouth’s earthiness and draws out more citrus and floral notes. A Plymouth G&T is refreshing, however the tonic water seems to mute this gin’s character. And we wouldn’t recommend mixing Plymouth into a Negroni, a cocktail where the gin all but disappears.
But we still like Plymouth for its elegant flavor profile, which, as Tammie expertly put it, is “uncomplicated but not boring.” If you’re a vodka martini drinker and you want to ease into gin, start with Plymouth.
Botanicals: juniper, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel, angelica root, green cardamom, orris root
What we like it in: a gin martini for beginners
Where it’s made: England
An inexpensive and tasty gin
An easy-drinking gin
Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin
$17 from Total Wine & More
Seagram’s is sweet and smooth, for a refreshing, almost candy-like gin and tonic.
Though it’s not a London Dry gin, Seagram’s Extra Dry is surprisingly palatable for the price. Seagram’s is a distilled gin, which means the distillers add more flavorings after the second distillation. Unlike most of our other picks, Seagram’s isn’t particularly juniper-forward. In fact, the citrus, spice, juniper, and heat come through in equal measure. It’s true to the label on the bottle: “Famously Extra Smooth and Mellow Taste.” A Seagram’s dry martini is “almost candy-like,” according to Tammie. And that sweetness is amplified with the addition of tonic water, yielding a G&T that she said “tastes like Smarties. Very clean and kind of minerally.” If you want a complex gin full of spruce and spice, this one isn’t for you.
Seagram’s Extra Dry is easy drinking, and it definitely has its place. It’s light and refreshing when mixed with tonic or club soda—perfect for late-summer lounging. And the next time I make a batch of gin punch for a party, I’ll skip over the more-expensive bottles for Seagram’s.
Botanicals (likely incomplete list): juniper, sweet orange, bitter orange, coriander, angelica
What we like it in: an easy-drinking gin and tonic
Where it’s made: USA
