Gin is one of the only spirits that you see on a shelf, and regardless of the quality, you assume you’re going to take it home and mix it with other ingredients to make a cocktail. To many, the thought of drinking gin neat never even occurs to them. Even if they enjoy the juniper, floral, and botanical aromas and flavors of their favorite gin, they still prefer to mix it with other ingredients to make it more palatable.
But it also shouldn’t surprise you that some people enjoy drinking their gin neat or at least prefer a gin that they could drink neat if they chose to do so. Personally, I am one of those people. I enjoy gin so much that I try my best not to mask its flavors with overpowering ingredients. Sure, I like a good Gin & Tonic from time to time. But it’s definitely going to be heavier on gin than tonic if you know what I mean.
This brings us to one important question: do people buy gin just to drink it neat, and what types of gins should you purchase if you want to sample it neat or mixed into a cocktail?
Do people drink gin neat?
The short answer is yes. Some drinkers imbibe their gin neat, without tonic water, seltzer, Campari, vermouth, or other ingredients. But they definitely don’t grab a plastic handle off the bottom shelf, take it home, and pour a glass for themselves. Gin drinkers look for premium, high-quality, flavorful gins.
Also, many neat gin drinkers prefer to enjoy it chilled straight out of the freezer to temper some of the flavors. Like vodka drinkers who prefer their spirit unmarred by many ingredients, some gin drinkers like to simply add a lime wedge or a lemon twist to bring a little extra, complementary flavor to the table.
How I pick my gins
Now that you’ve learned that there is a market for flavorful, sippable gins, I’d like to let you in on how I pick my gins. Even though I often mix them in cocktails, every gin I have in my own bar is good enough to be sipped neat. To stock my bar, I look for balanced (not too juniper-heavy), botanical, flavorful gins. Not too harsh and not too many flavors battling for botanical supremacy.
Gins so good you want to drink them neat
Now it’s time to get to the good stuff. It’s time to let you in on my list of gins that are so aromatic, flavorful, and balanced that you’ll be tempted to drink them neat (and you probably will). Below you’ll see all juniper, anise, and citrus peel-centric choices. Keep scrolling to see them all.
Sipsmith London Dry Gin
If you’ve never tried Sipsmith London Dry Gin, what exactly are you waiting for? This flavorful gin is made with ten ingredients, including Macedonian juniper, Chinese cassia bark, Seville orange, Bulgarian coriander seeds, Madagascan cinnamon, French Angelica root, Spanish licorice root, Italian orris root, Spanish lemon peel, and Spanish ground almond. The result is a 41.6% ABV gin loaded with flavors like citrus zest, piney juniper, baking spices, and cracked black pepper. It’s perfect for mixing into a Gin & Tonic, but is flavorful and balanced enough to be sipped neat.
Barr Hill Gin
This isn’t your usual gin. Barr Hill Gin is distilled in a custom-made botanical extraction still with wild juniper, then finished with regionally sourced raw honey. The result is a 45% ABV sippable, multi-layered gin bursting with flavors like sweet honey, piney juniper, and floral notes. Surprisingly versatile, it’s a favorite of drinkers and bartenders alike. It makes for a great base for all your favorite gin-based cocktails, but it also works well as an approachable sipping gin on a rainy day.
Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
Made in Germany’s Black Forest, Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin is a unique and memorable gin. As the name suggests, it’s flavored with 47 ingredients. It begins with a molasses-based neutral spirit that’s infused with various herbs and botanicals, including elderflower, spruce, lingonberries, lavender, grapefruit peel, lemon peel, and, of course, juniper. The final product is a 47% ABV expression exploding with flavors like pine, lavender, juniper, mint, lemon peels, cracked black pepper, and ripe berries. This gin is so aromatic and flavorful that you might prefer to drink it neat or on the rocks rather than mix it into a cocktail.
The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
Islay is well-known for its peated single malt Scotch whiskies. But the Inner Hebrides island is also home to The Botanist Islay Dry Gin. Made at the renowned Bruichladdich Distillery, this popular gin is made with a base of juniper berries, coriander seed, cinnamon, cassia bark, angelica root, orange peel, licorice root, lemon, and orris root, along with 22 hand-foraged botanicals from the island itself. This creates a truly memorable gin featuring notes of juniper berries, citrus, mint, licorice candy, and gentle spices. It’s so complex that you’ll want to sip some neat before you ever think of using it in a cocktail.
Tanqueray No. TEN
If you’re a gin drinker, you know all about the appeal of gins made by Tanqueray. But have you tried Tanqueray No. TEN neat or on the rocks? You should. This elegant, balanced gin is distilled with citrus fruits. It’s also flavored with juniper, licorice root, coriander seed, angelica, and chamomile. This creates one of the most flavorful, noteworthy gins on the market. Sipping it neat reveals notes of juniper, pine, orange peels, lemon zest, licorice, and cracked black pepper. Sip it neat, on the rocks, or mixed into a Spanish Gin Tonic or any other gin-based cocktail. Just drink it.
Bottom line
By now, I hope you can see the appeal of gin beyond simply a mixer. Well-made gins are complex, flavorful, and multi-layered. I always take a sip or two of a new bottle of gin before mixing it just to learn a little more about the flavors.
