Top 10 new British gin brands

As the cocktail renaissance continues and consumer demand for products with heritage soars, a plethora of new British gin brands have joined the booming category.

An abundance of British gin brands have hit the market in the past year

Predominantly created by small, independent distillers, these brands have helped revitalise the British gin market, demonstrating spirits innovation from the idyllic Cotswolds to the outer reaches of Scotland.

While Scotland’s first combined brewery and distillery made its debut with the launch of an experimental hopped gin, Cumbria’s first distillery in more than a century opened its doors and released a gin created using locally sourced botanicals.

The first licensed distillery in Brighton and Hove also released its much-anticipated inaugural product and the first grape-based English gin hit the market.

Click through the following pages to discover our pick of the top 10 British gin brands launched over the past year. If you think any essential choices have been missed off this list, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Cotswolds Dry Gin

In September last year the new Cotswolds Distillery launched its inaugural product – a London dry gin. With traditional base botanicals of juniper, angelica root and coriander along with Cotswolds lavender and bay leaf, the gin’s recipe was selected by a panel of experts. Following on from its success in the UK, the brand revealed its intention to launch in the US earlier this year.

For more information, click here.

Eden Mill Hop Gin

Scotland’s first combined brewery and distillery, Eden Mill, moved into spirits with the launch of its Hop Gin – made using Australian galaxy hops. Said to mark an “evolution” linking the two crafts of brewing and distilling together, the gin is created in small batches and is thought to be the UK’s first dry hopped gin.

For more information, click here.

The Lakes Gin

Produced by The Lakes Distillery – the first distillery to be built in the Lake District in more than a century – The Lakes Gin created using water from the region’s River Derwent and a mix of traditional gin botanicals as well as bilberry, meadowsweet, hawthorn and heather, foraged where possible in the local countryside. The distillery claims the expression is the only gin to be created in Cumbria.

For more information, click here.

Brighton Gin

Brighton Gin is created by the first distillery to be granted a license in Brighton and Hove, the Brighton Spirits Company. Described as “gentle and approachable” with “sweet-scented fresh citrus and a touch of spice”, the gin’s botanicals include angelica, lime and milk thistle. The Brighton Spirits Company was founded by wine and spirits PR Helen Chesshire, radio producer and former publican and restaurateur Kathy Caton, founder of the W J King Brewery and chairman of the Small Batch Coffee Company Nigel Lambe, drinks editor of The Spectator and wine editor of The Field and Boat International Johnny Ray and physicist Dr Ian Barry.

For more information, click here.

Cannonball Navy Strength

Spencerfield Spirit Company launched its Cannonball Navy Strength Gin – the inaugural product distilled at the Edinburgh Gin Distillery – last September. The 57% abv navy strength gin features double strength juniper and “more than a pinch” of Szechuan pepper among its botanicals. Created in partnership with Heriot-Watt University, the gin is available in the UK and select export markets as well as from the distillery’s Heads & Tales bar.

For more information, click here.

Chilgrove Gin

Said to be the first English grape-based gin, Chilgrove Gin is distilled by Charles Maxwell at Thames Distillers in partnership with Christopher Tetley and Dr Celia Beaumont-Hutchings. The gin is distilled with 11 botanicals, including juniper, coriander seed, sweet orange, savory, angelica root, lime, liquorice root, orris root, grains of paradise, bitter orange and water mint. It is described as “a big, powerful, complex gin”.

For more information, click here.

Gin Lane 1751

Also distilled at Thames Distillers is Gin Lane 1751, the brainchild of a group of gin lovers and industry professionals, The Bloomsbury Club. Described as a classic style Victorian gin, the product is named after the landmark Gin Act 1751, which led to gin becoming less readily available in the UK and as such “more respectable”. It also pays homage to William Hogarth’s famous 18^th century painting “Gin Lane”. The brand currently consists of a four-strong classic London Dry expression (40% abv), London Dry Royal Strength (47% abv), Victoria Pink Gin (40% abv) and Old Tom Gin (40% abv).

For more information, click here.

Makar Gin

Makar Glasgow is the first gin to be distilled in Glasgow in more than 100 years and is created by the Glasgow Distillery Company. Named after the Gaelic word for poet or bard, the 43% abv dry gin is juniper-led and contains rosemary and black peppercorns among its botanicals. Its launch marked the victory of the Glasgow Distillery Company in winning the race against the Glasgow Distillery and Visitors’ Centre to become the city’s first gin and malt whisky distillery in a century.

For more information, click here.

Becketts Gin

Said to be the world’s only gin created using English juniper, Becketts is working to sustain populations of the plant in partnership with the Forestry Commission. The gin is made using handpicked juniper berries from Box Hill in Surrey and mint grown in Kingston-upon-Thames, as well as a range of other botanicals including Moroccan lime and Spanish orange peel.

For more information, click here.

Daffy’s Gin

Founded by former wine maker and whisky distiller Chris Molyneaux, Edinburgh-based Daffy’s Gin is made using a unique mix of botanicals including Lebanese mint. Distilled in an ancient copper pot whisky still and bottled with Scottish water, the gin features an image of Daffy the “goddess of gin”, created by Robert McGinnis.

For more information, click here.