Top 10 best value for money gin brands

From new brands staking their claim in the market to favoured back bar best-sellers, neither choice nor quality are in short supply in the gin category.

This is our pick of the top 10 best value for money gins based on the results of The Global Gin Masters 2016

The Spirits Business held its annual Gin Masters last month, where an experienced panel of judges recognised the best bottlings in the business.

Looking across multiple categories, from London dry to cask-aged, navy strength to sloe, a wide range of gins were awarded the top accolades of Master and Gold medals for their quality.

The individual scores of each entrant have not been revealed, however these are 10 of the highest rated medalists in the competition, in no particular order.

While some expressions are not standard priced, our judges have given each gin listed here the seal of approval for offering excellent quality within their respective price categories.

Click through to the following pages to view the top 10 best value for money gins of 2016.

Shortcross Gin

Price: £34.99
Launched in 2014, Rademon Estate Distillery’s Shortcross Gin is crafted from a blend of botanicals that includes juniper, fresh apples, elderberries, wild clover, coriander, orange peel, lemon peel and cassia. The brand slotted into the ultra-premium category in our Gin Masters 2016, winning Master medal and the accolade of “perfect G&T gin” from the panel. In February the distillery launched a cask-aged version of Shortcross Gin through luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason, which was awarded a Silver medal.

Hernö Old Tom Gin

Price: approx £36.65
The “superb, wonderfully balanced” Hernö Old Tom Gin won a Master medal in this year’s competition, followed by its “rounded, very interesting” and “beautifully spiced” sibling, Hernö Juniper Cask Gin. Swedish Hernö distillers chose to feature a cat’s face on the label in homage to the tom cat-shaped plaques outside London gin houses in the 18th Century – where you’d put a coin in the cat’s mouth and the bartender would dispense a shot of Old Tom through the cat’s paw.

Hobart No 4 Gin

Price: approx £55
This small-batch Tasmanian dry gin was deemed “astounding” by the Gin Masters’ judging panel, and was swiftly rewarded with a Master medal. The expression features four native Australian botanicals – lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, lanceolata and wattle seed, and offers a “herbaceous” palate with notes of cracked peppercorns, orange peel, grapefruit, vanilla, and liquorice.

ELLC Premium Batch No 1 Gin

Price: £30.95
Boasting a botanical selection of juniper berries, cassia bark, coriander seeds, angelica root, pink grapefruit peel, cubeb berries and Darjeeling tea; Premium Batch No.1 Gin was awarded a Master medal by our panel for its “bittersweet, outdoorsy” quality. The East London Liquor Company opened its doors in April 2014, and was the first distillery to produce whisky, gin and vodka in East London in more than a century.

Poetic License Old Tom Gin

Price: £32.50
A relative newcomer to the category, Sunderlands’ Poetic License Independent Small Batch Distillery launched its inaugural products – two gins and a vodka – in September 2015. Its Old Tom expression was deemed “resinous” and “delicate”, and rewarded with the highest possible medal, while its Northern Dry Gin also attracted a Master medal in the ‘contemporary’ category. 

Tom Cat Barrel Aged Gin

Price: approx £42.50
Pipped as “a modern day adaption of Old Tom gin”, Tom Cat is barrel aged for between four and six months in new, charred American White Oak casks. Produced by Caladonia Sprits; the gin’s “rich, deep smoky tones” and “sweet honey” notes won favour with the judging panel, who awarded it a Master medal.

Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin

Price: approx AU$95.00
Awarded a Master medal, Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin wowed judges with its “orange blossom” nose, “malty finish, and really interesting array of flavours”. The expression is made using “intense” native finger limes, organic oranges, coriander, star anise and fresh ginger, and is bottled at 58.8% abv. 

Foxdenton Sloe Gin

Price: £22.95
A combination of sloes, sugar and the distillery’s own London dry gin, the “exceptional” Foxdenton Sloe Gin is paler, less sweet, and also stronger – at 27% abv – than other expressions in the category. Described as “near perfect” by one member of the panel, Foxdenton Sloe Gin won a Master medal due to its “complex, easy to drink” nature. 

Windspiel Premium Dry Gin

Price: £42.95
This “field-to-glass” potato vodka from Germany won high praise from the panel, who found the expression “multilayered” and “deep-flavoured”. Botanicals include juniper berries, lemon, coriander, cinnamon bark, lavender, as well as a number of secret botanicals. Inspired by Fridericus Rex, who is said to have brought the potato to Germany, the expression is named in homage to his dog – a ‘windspiel’, or ‘greyhound’ in English.

Origin – Klanac, Croatia

Price: £35.95
The Croatian edition of the ‘Origin’ range of London Dry Gins was deemed “a perfect example of the category” by the Gin Masters’ panel. Distilled using juniper gathered from one single location – in this instance from Klanac in Croatia – the concept encourages imbibers to explore the effects of terroir on gin, highlighting how location, climate, soil type and myriad other conditions have affected the juniper. Every bottle comes with a vial of cold-distilled botanicals – coriander, lemon peel, orange peel, cardamom, angelica, cassia, liquorice, cubeb berries and camomile – which can be added to the larger bottle.