The Best Modern Gins

Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin is produced using twelve botanicals, eight that are traditionally infused and four that are vapor infused. Meadowsweet, sourced in the town of Drumshanbo in Co. Leitrim where the gin is produced, along with cardamom, juniper, coriander, angelica root, orris root, caraway, and star anise all go directly into the copper pot stills. The kaffir lime, oriental grapefruit, Chinese lemon and gunpowder tea are vapor infused.

Hendrick's launched in 2001 and is distilled in Scotland at the Girvan distillery. It is distilled in small batches (500 liters) in two different stills using 11 different botanicals including elderflower, chamomile, and yarrow. One batch is made in a Bennet still which produces a heavier spirit (botanicals are macerated) and one is done in a Carter-head still (botanicals are vapor-infused) which produces a lighter spirit. The two are blended together and then infused with rose and cucumbers. It is then brought down to proof with water.

The Nolet family operates the oldest running distillery in Holland, having produced spirits since 1691. While more known today for producing the Ketel One brand, the distillery recently began producing their own gin style created by Carolus Nolet Sr. and his sons, Carl Jr. and Bob. Nolet's Silver Gin begins with a mash made from European wheat. While the exact botanical recipe is a company secret, it does contain juniper, peach, Turkish rose and raspberry. These botanicals are individually macerated and distilled with the base spirit.

Introduced in late 2016—with its wider international release following in 2017—this dry-style gin comes from Japan’s first dedicated gin distillery, The Kyoto Distillery. Master Distiller Alex Davies begins with a rice-based spirit and incorporates botanicals such as yellow yuzu, hinoki (cypress) wood chips, bamboo, gyokuro tea, and green sanshō peppercorns. These ingredients are grouped into six categories—base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice, and floral—with each category steeped separately into the rice spirit and then individually distilled before blending. The final gin is proofed with water from Fushimi, a region renowned for its purity. KI NO BI, meaning “the beauty of the seasons,” is bottled at 45.7% ABV.

Gin fans Matt Jones, Stuart "Stu" Gregor, and Cameron "Cam" MacKenzie founded Four Pillars in 2013 as their way to contribute to Australia's craft spirits industry. They named their distillery after their four pillars approach to gin production - "stills, water, botanicals, and love." This Rare Dry Gin, the distillery's first gin release, celebrates this approach. Beginning with sourced Australian grain spirit, this gin is made with triple-distilled Yarra Valley water and the following botanicals: European juniper berries, Australian lemon myrtle, Tasmanian pepperberry leaf, Yarra Valley lavender, angelica, green cardamom, cassia, coriander, star anise, and organic oranges.

St. George Botanivore Gin is an American gin made with 19 botanicals. Sixteen are steeped overnight in neutral spirit before distillation, including botanicals such as bergamot, Saigon cinnamon, and citra hops, while juniper, California bay laurel, and fresh cilantro are vapor-infused during distillation. Produced at St. George Spirits in California, the gin is distilled in a copper pot still and bottled at 45% ABV.

Nikka Coffey Gin is made from a base of corn and malt distillate, both produced on the brand’s signature Coffey stills—hence the name. Its botanical blend includes Japanese citrus varieties such as yuzu, kabosu, amanatsu, and shikuwasa, along with sanshō pepper and apples, balanced by traditional gin botanicals like juniper, angelica, coriander, and lemon peel. First released in Japan in June 2017, Nikka Coffey Gin debuted in the US in September 2017.

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.

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.

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.