Key Takeaways
- Juniper is the one required ingredient in gin; everything else, coriander, citrus peel, cardamom, is up to the distiller.
- London Dry is the benchmark style, but New Western gins like Hendrick's turn down the juniper for people who think they don't like gin.
- Navy Strength gin (57%+ ABV) got its name from British sailors testing it against gunpowder: if it still lit, the gin was strong enough.
Juniper is the only ingredient gin is required to have. Everything else is up to the distiller, and that one loophole built an entire category.
London Dry keeps to that rule strictly. Tanqueray and Beefeater stay crisp and dry, with no sweetness added after distillation. Hendrick's went the other way, cutting juniper back and building its gin around rose and cucumber instead. Same rule, two completely different drinks.
Navy Strength gin sits at the far end, bottled at 57% ABV or higher. The old story says British sailors tested it by pouring gin on gunpowder, and if it still lit, the batch was strong enough. That test is more bar legend than documented history, but the strength itself is real.
Ian Fleming built James Bond's signature drink around gin. Three parts Gordon's, one part vodka, a half part Kina Lillet, shaken hard over ice until the shaker frosts and a curl of lemon peel drops in last. He named it the Vesper, then admitted he found his own creation unpalatable the first time he tasted it.
Gin has exactly one rule, and every good bottle is an argument about what happens next.
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