Cocktails with London dry gin
Gin is a neutral spirit redistilled with botanicals, and by law juniper has to lead. London Dry is the strictest grade: everything it tastes of has to come from the still, not from anything stirred in afterwards.
ABV40–47%On most London Dry, with 37.5% the legal minimum. The difference shows in a Martini or a Negroni, where a 40% gin can taste thin.
Substitutes for London dry gin
Any gin works one for one, though the style shifts the flavor. Old Tom is sweeter, so the drink will need a little less syrup. A modern gin that leads with citrus or flowers pushes the juniper back. Vodka is not a substitute: without juniper it is a different drink.
Old Tom gin
A lightly sweetened gin with no legal definition; London dry, by law, may carry no more than a trace of sweetening.
Genever
Gin's Dutch and Belgian ancestor. Oude genever and korenwijn are malty and taste closer to a light whiskey; jonge is lighter and nearer to gin. Oude and korenwijn make a drink maltier and less juniper-led.
On the label
- London Dry
- The driest, most juniper-led grade. All flavor comes from redistilling with the botanicals; afterwards only water is allowed, no coloring and no more than a trace of sugar.
- Distilled gin
- Distilled like London Dry, but flavoring, coloring or sweetening may be added afterwards. Most contemporary gins with citrus or floral notes in front sit here.
Sources
- 27 CFR 5.154 geographic designations — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- 27 CFR Part 5, Subpart I — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I — UK Legislation
- Reg (EU) 2019/787 Annex I gin categories — UK Legislation
- Reg (EU) 2019/787 cat 22 — UK Legislation
- Regulation (EU) 2019/787, EUR-Lex
