Must-Try Modern Gins

Glendalough Distillery, known for its Irish whiskeys, entered the gin category in 2014 with a series of seasonal releases inspired by Ireland’s changing landscape. Launched in early 2017, Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin brings those four seasonal expressions together in a single bottling. A wide range of wild botanicals are foraged by Geraldine Kavanagh and used fresh rather than dried during distillation, capturing bright floral, fruit, and spice notes that reflect spring through winter. (SRP $32.99)

Tom's Town Botanical Gin is made in Kansas City using both vapor infusion and maceration to balance the 14 botanicals used in its creation. These botanicals include Kaffir lime, lemongrass, cubeb pepper, long pepper, allspice and clove. Tom's Town Distillery is named after Tom Pendergast, a political boss who controlled Kansas City during Prohibition. The art deco bottles harken this time. Note: Formerly known as McElroy's Corruption Gin. Updated name and packaging in 2018.

Distilled from 100% corn in Nikka's signature Coffey stills at Miyagikyo Distillery near Sendai, Japan, its 11 botanicals are distilled three different ways — atmospheric distillation for the gin botanicals, and vacuum distillation for both the Japanese citrus and sansho pepper components — before being blended together. Japanese botanicals include yuzu, amanatsu, shequasar, sansho pepper, and apple alongside traditional gin botanicals of juniper, coriander, angelica root, lemon peel, and orange peel. First released in 2017, it is bottled at 94 proof.

First released in 2006, Aviation Gin was developed in collaboration with Seattle bartender Ryan Magarian and Portland-based House Spirits Distillery. The American gin begins with a neutral grain spirit infused with seven botanicals—juniper, Elettaria cardamom, lavender, sarsaparilla, coriander, anise seed, and dried sweet orange peel—which are steeped and heated in a stainless-steel vessel before the spirit is redistilled. It is bottled at 42% ABV. The brand was acquired by Diageo in 2020, with actor Ryan Reynolds remaining a co-owner.

St. George Terroir Gin is an American gin made with a dozen botanicals inspired by California, including Douglas fir, California bay laurel, and coastal sage. Fir and sage are distilled separately to preserve their character, while juniper and bay laurel are vapor-infused and the remaining botanicals, including wok-roasted coriander seeds, fennel seed, and Seville orange, are distilled in a copper pot still. Produced at St. George Spirits in California, the gin is bottled at 45% ABV.

Produced by the House of Suntory in Osaka, Japan, Roku takes its name from the Japanese word for six, a reference to the six Japanese botanicals at the heart of the gin: sakura flower, sakura leaf, yuzu peel, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, and sansho pepper. Each botanical is harvested at peak season in accordance with the Japanese tradition of shun, then distilled in a selection of pot stills chosen to best extract each ingredient's flavor. These six botanicals are balanced with eight traditional gin botanicals to complete the recipe. Bottled at 86 proof, it became available in the US in October 2018. (SRP $27.99)

Dry Fly Distilling sources the soft white winter wheat used for their vodka and gin from the family-owned Wisota Farm in Eastern Washington. Made in Spokane, their flagship gin includes botanicals grown locally: Washington Fuji apples, coriander, lavender, mint, hops, and juniper berries from Oregon. It is bottled at 40% ABV.

Spring44 is quick to point out that 96 percent of the premium clear spirits consumed in the United States are imported. With Colorado’s premium water supply and bounty of botanicals they believe that they can compete favorably with the overseas brands. Even their beautiful Vendome copper pot/column still is manufactured in Kentucky. Most of the botanicals are certified organic and the Mountain Gin features some classics such as juniper, coriander, and orris root and some more contemporary gin favorites like kaffir lime leaf, peppermint, and basil.

Bobby's Schiedam Dry Gin is an interpretation of creator Sebastiaan's grandfather, Bobby's homemade gin. Born in Indonesia, Bobby immigrated to the Netherlands in the 1950's, but longed for a spirit with the taste of home. So, he began infusing Dutch jenever with Indonesian herbs, thus creating his own gin. In 2012, Sebastiaan traveled to Holland to meet master distiller of Herman Jansen. Together, they created today's version of Bobby's recipe using Indonesian botanicals such as lemongrass, cloves, coriander, cubeb pepper and cinnamon.

An abandoned cheese factory in Isokyrö, Finland has been home to the rye-obsessed Kyrö Distillery Company since 2014. While they waited for their rye whiskey to mature, they keep the stills busy producing new make spirit and rye-based gin like this one. Kyrö Gin (formerly known as Napue Gin) is made from rye grain and distilled with freshly-picked and locally sourced seabuckthorn, wild cranberries, birch leaves, and meadowsweet. The remaining 12 botanicals are undisclosed.

The Botanist Gin is produced by Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay, an island off the west coast of Scotland. In addition to 9 standard botanicals, it's made with 22 wild Islay botanicals that were hand-foraged locally and sustainably. Those botanicals include apple mint, heather, red clover, and meadowsweet among many others. The gin is distilled over 17 hours in a Lomond Still named Ugly Betty. It is bottled at 46% ABV.

Hailing from Germany’s Black Forest, Monkey 47 is an exotic gin made with a molasses base. The 47 refers to the number of botanicals used which includes such unlikely fruit ingredients like lingonberries, blackberries, and honey pomelo. These are combined with a host of recognizable gin botanicals such as chamomile, sage, angelica, coriander, and a whole array of others. Another anomaly at Monkey 47 is that the distillate is aged in earthenware containers for three months before being brought to 47% ABV with the forest’s celebrated water.