Price isn’t always a guarantee of quality when it comes to own-label spirits

“Have we reached peak gin yet?” a leading food writer asked plaintively on social media a few weeks ago. Kicked off by the relaxation in distilling laws in 2009, combined with renewed interest in the cocktail scene, the gin boom just kept on booming, with ever more outlandish “twists” on this noble staple of the drinkers’ armoury cluttering up our shelves, often at really punchy prices that belied a triumph of marketing over quality. Well, I am happy to report that, yes, according to industry stats, we reached the gin summit late in 2022, since when sales have been steadily declining and retailers are finally cutting back on their unwieldy ranges. Amen to that, I say.

What most of us actually want is a gin that tastes of gin, and London dry, which dates from the first gin craze in the 18th century, is the style we like best. It doesn’t even have to be made in London, but the botanicals have to be redistilled with the base spirit, rather than just infused, and juniper must be the predominant flavour, usually alongside citrus, spicy and herbaceous notes.