The Ultimate Guide to Gin: What to Know Before You Buy

There’s London Dry, Plymouth, Old Tom, Navy Strength, floral gin, citrusy gin, cucumber-led gin, bottles made with local herbs, and others listing enough botanicals to stock a respectable garden.

The good news is that choosing gin gets much easier once you stop thinking of it as one flavor.

Juniper gives gin its identity. Everything around the juniper gives the bottle its personality.

Some gins are crisp and piney. Others lean into citrus, flowers, herbs, spice, or something almost savory.

This guide will help you understand those differences, figure out which styles appeal to you, and choose a bottle with a little more confidence.

What Is Gin, Exactly?

At its core, gin is a spirit flavored around juniper. Juniper is what gives classic gin that familiar piney, forest-like character. From there, distillers add other botanicals to create the personality of the bottle.

That can mean citrus peel, coriander, roots, flowers, herbs, spices, cucumber, tea, fruit, or ingredients pulled from the landscape around the distillery.

This is why two bottles labeled simply “gin” can taste remarkably different. One may give you juniper and lemon immediately, while another may smell like flowers and fresh herbs. And still a third might be peppery, earthy, or even slightly maritime.

Juniper Is the Starting Point

If you’re trying to understand gin, start with juniper. Its flavor can remind you of pine needles, citrus peel, resin, pepper, or walking through a forest after rain.

In a classic gin, juniper often leads. In a modern botanical gin, it may share the stage with grapefruit, cucumber, flowers, mint, herbs, or spices.

Neither approach is inherently better; they simply create very different drinks.

If you enjoy a crisp, piney Gin & Tonic, opt for something juniper-forward. But if your favorite gins feel softer, greener, floral, or citrusy, you may prefer bottles where the other botanicals have more room to speak.

What Are Botanicals in Gin?

Botanicals are the plant ingredients used to flavor gin.

As we mentioned, juniper is the essential one, but the supporting cast can include:

• Coriander seed

• Lemon or orange peel

• Angelica root

• Orris root

• Cardamom

• Pepper

• Flowers

• Herbs

• Tea

• Cucumber

• Fruit

Their job goes well beyond making a botanical list sound impressive.

Coriander can bring citrus and spice. Angelica often gives an earthy, grounding quality. Citrus peel adds lift. Cardamom and pepper can make a gin feel warmer and more aromatic.

The balance between those ingredients is where the personality lives.

Think About Flavor, Not Botanical Count

A gin made with 18 botanicals is not automatically more complex than one made with six.

We care much more about what you can actually smell and taste.

Forthave Blue Gin, made here in New York, is a good example. It uses 18 botanicals, including juniper, grapefruit, and mint. The useful part for you is not the number 18. It is knowing that the gin has a bright, herbal, citrus-driven character.

Nordés Gin goes in another direction. Its Albariño-based spirit and botanicals, including lemon verbena and salicornia, give it a fresh, aromatic, slightly maritime personality.

Those descriptions tell you far more about whether you will enjoy the bottle.

How Gin Gets Its Flavor

Distillers have several ways to bring botanical flavor into gin.

Some steep botanicals in the spirit before distillation. Others expose the alcohol vapor to botanicals as it moves through the still. Some distill ingredients separately and combine the resulting spirits later. Each approach extracts aromas differently.

Even the base spirit can matter.

Many gins begin with a very neutral grain spirit so the botanicals take center stage. Others use grapes, like the Nordés, or another distinctive base to introduce more texture or character.

You don’t really need to know the mechanics of every still in the building. What matters is that production choices help explain why one gin feels sharp and precise while another feels rounder, softer, or more aromatic.

What Are The Main Types of Gin?

Gin styles can sound more complicated than they really are because some names refer to production methods, some come from history, and others simply describe flavor.

Here’s a simple breakdown:

London Dry Gin: The Classic Reference Point

Despite the name, London Dry gin does not have to be made in London. The term refers mainly to how the gin is produced.

In the glass, London Dry usually gives you a very recognizable gin profile: juniper, citrus, dryness, and enough structure to stand up in classic cocktails.

This is often the easiest place to begin if you want to understand traditional gin.

Sipsmith London Dry Gin is a good reference point. It has the crisp, structured character we like in a classic Martini and enough presence for a Negroni or Gin & Tonic.

If someone tells us they want “gin that tastes like gin,” London Dry is usually where the conversation starts.

Plymouth Gin: A Rounder Traditional Style

Plymouth sits close enough to classic gin territory to feel familiar, but the personality is a little softer.

We tend to find it rounder and earthier than a sharper London Dry, with less emphasis on that bracing pine-and-citrus edge.

That makes Plymouth Gin particularly appealing in a Martini when you want something graceful and savory rather than intensely crisp. But it also works beautifully in a G&T.

If London Dry feels a little angular to your palate, Plymouth can be a very comfortable next stop.

This is one of those style differences that becomes obvious the moment you taste the two side by side.

Old Tom Gin: Softer and Gently Sweet

Old Tom is a historic gin style with a little more roundness and sweetness than London Dry. This softer profile works beautifully in drinks such as the Martinez and Tom Collins. You may find the juniper feels less sharp, while the extra richness gives the gin a broader texture.

It’s an especially interesting style for whiskey drinkers exploring gin, because that little touch of sweetness can make the transition feel familiar.

The name itself has a wonderfully murky history. You’ll sometimes hear it linked to the cat signs used by clandestine gin sellers in 18th-century London, but stronger historical evidence connects “Old Tom” to distiller Thomas Chamberlain, whose gin was later marketed with a tomcat on the label. Either way, the name became attached to the sweeter style that was common before modern distillation made cleaner spirits possible.

By the late 19th century, improvements in continuous distillation meant producers could make a much purer base spirit that no longer needed sweetness to soften rough edges. Drinkers were also developing a taste for drier styles, and unsweetened gin gradually took the lead. That evolution helped pave the way for London Dry to become the reference point we know today.

Botanical Gin: When Juniper Shares the Spotlight

“Botanical gin” is a useful way to describe modern gins where other flavors become especially expressive.

You might get:

• Flowers

• Cucumber

• Grapefruit

• Mint

• Local herbs

• Pepper

• Tea

• Sea herbs

• Fruit

This is often where people discover that they like gin far more than they thought.

Song Cai Distillery Dry Gin takes us to Vietnam, with highland botanicals bringing floral notes, spiced citrus, pine, and a touch of sweet anise. Hendrick’s famously brings cucumber and floral notes into the picture. Side by side, they show just how far botanical gin can travel while still keeping juniper at the heart of the bottle.

If you prefer fresh, fragrant, herbal, or floral flavors, this part of the category can be especially rewarding.

Navy Strength Gin: More Proof and More Presence

Navy Strength gin usually sits around 57% alcohol by volume. That extra proof gives the spirit more intensity and helps its botanicals stay present once you add ice, citrus, tonic, vermouth, or other cocktail ingredients.

It can make a terrific drink when you want gin to stand firmly at the center, and the higher strength also means a little goes a long way.

We think of Navy Strength as a useful next step once you already know what gin flavors you enjoy and want to see what happens when the volume gets turned up.

Strong can be exciting, but balance is still the goal.

Barrel-Aged Gin: Where Gin Meets Oak

Put gin in a barrel and a new set of flavors enters the conversation.

Oak can bring vanilla, spice, toast, and a richer texture. Those notes sit alongside the juniper and botanicals, creating something that can feel halfway between classic gin and whiskey.

And much like whiskey, you can enjoy barrel-aged gin neat or over a large cube. It also works in spirit-forward cocktails where oak and spice have room to show.

If you already enjoy bourbon or aged spirits, this can be a particularly fun corner of gin to explore.

Flavored and Sloe Gin

This part of the shelf deserves a quick label check.

Fruit-flavored gins can range from dry and aromatic to noticeably sweet. Color alone tells you very little about what will be in the glass.

Sloe gin belongs in its own category. Generally, it’s a gin-based liqueur made with sloe berries and usually has more fruit, sweetness, and a lower alcohol level than a standard dry gin.

These styles can be lovely for spritzes, longer drinks, or sipping.Just choose them for what they actually taste like rather than assuming they will behave like London Dry.

What Does Gin Actually Taste Like?

The easiest way to understand gin is to think in flavor families.

You may enjoy more than one category. Most of us do. The useful part is having words for what you like.“Something citrusy and herbal” will get you much further in a good spirits shop than “I think I want a fancy gin.”

How to Read a Gin Bottle Before You Buy It

A label can tell you quite a bit once you know what to look for.

Start with five things:

1. Style: London Dry, Old Tom, Navy Strength, or another designation.

2. ABV: Higher proof generally means more intensity.

3. Botanical Clues: Citrus, cucumber, flowers, herbs, spice.

4. Base Spirit: Grain, grape, or another base if the producer highlights it.

5. How They Suggest Serving It: Martini, G&T, neat, or cocktails.

Marketing words deserve a little more curiosity. “Craft,” “botanical,” and “premium” can all describe excellent bottles. The flavor information tells you why that particular one deserves your attention.

The Botanical List Is a Clue, Not a Score

This is worth repeating because gin makers have become very good at botanical arithmetic. A bottle with 30 botanicals does not beat one with 10. Think about Forthave Blue and Nordés again: one uses 18 botanicals, and one uses 11. Sure, the number is interesting. But the fact that one gives you grapefruit and mint while the other leans toward citrus, herbs, and maritime notes is actually useful.

Balance matters more than quantity.

A good gin tastes coherent, and you should feel like the botanicals are having a conversation rather than all trying to speak at once.

What Makes a Premium Gin Worth More?

“Premium gin” isn't a regulated style.

It usually means the producer is asking you to pay more for some combination of ingredients, production, provenance, proof, scarcity, packaging, or brand positioning. Sometimes that extra money is very easy to taste, and sometimes the bottle itself is doing a fair amount of the work.

We like asking one question:

What am I paying more for, and will I appreciate it in the way I plan to drink this gin?

If you’re making a bold Negroni, subtle botanical details can get subdued beside Campari and vermouth. In a Martini or neat pour, those details have much more room to show.

How to Choose Gin Based on What You Like to Drink

Once you know the styles, choosing gin becomes much easier. Start with the drink you make most often.

If You Love a Crisp Martini

Start with London Dry gin. Look for words like:

• Juniper-forward

• Dry

• Citrus

• Structured

• Classic

For another expression of the style, Elena Penna London Dry Gin brings an alpine, Piemonte character to the category and is a lovely direction to explore for a crisp Martini.

The gin needs enough character to stand beside vermouth and still feel like the main event, so if Martinis are your main reason for buying gin, this is a very comfortable starting point.

If You Prefer a Softer Martini

Plymouth is worth exploring. Its rounder, earthier style can make a Martini feel gentler and more savory. This works particularly well if you enjoy a little more vermouth or prefer an olive garnish.

A sharp lemon-twist Martini and an olive-driven Plymouth Martini can feel like completely different drinks.

This is one of the reasons gin is such a rewarding category, since the bottle changes the personality of a very simple recipe.

If You Mostly Drink Gin & Tonics

This is where botanical gin gets especially fun.

First decide what you want the drink to feel like.

• For classic pine and citrus, reach toward London Dry.

• For cucumber and flowers, Hendrick’s moves in that direction.

• For grapefruit and herbal character, Forthave Blue is more interesting.

• For something fresh, aromatic, and maritime, Nordés takes you somewhere else entirely.

Then choose tonic and garnish to support the gin.

The gin should lead, and everything else should help it along.

If You Love Negronis

A Negroni asks gin to stand beside two very flavorful ingredients: sweet vermouth and bitter aperitivo, so opt for a gin with some backbone.

Classic London Dry styles work beautifully because juniper and citrus stay noticeable through the bitterness and sweetness of the other ingredients.

A softer or more delicate gin can also make a lovely Negroni, just with a gentler personality.

This is one of our favorite ways to understand gin strength. Make the same Negroni with two different bottles, and you’ll know very quickly what “structure” means.

If You Want to Sip Gin Neat

This is where you can pay closer attention to texture and botanical detail.

Look for:

• Distinctive juniper

• Interesting regional botanicals

• Higher-quality texture

• A long finish

• Enough complexity to change in the glass

Premium gin can make more sense here because every little detail has room to show. Procera is a great example.

Barrel-aged gin can also be interesting if you enjoy oak and spice.

Pour a small amount, give it a minute, and smell before tasting. 

FAQs

What makes gin different from vodka?

Gin starts with a spirit base and gains its defining character from juniper and other botanicals. Vodka is generally designed around a much more neutral flavor profile.

Does London Dry gin have to be made in London?

No. London Dry describes a production style rather than a geographic requirement, so producers around the world can make it.

What is botanical gin?

All gin uses botanicals. The term botanical gin is commonly used for modern gins where ingredients such as citrus, herbs, flowers, cucumber, or spice become especially noticeable alongside juniper.

Is premium gin worth the extra money?

It can be, especially when distinctive botanicals, higher-quality texture, provenance, or careful production are easy to appreciate in a Martini or neat pour.

What type of gin should a beginner buy?

Start with your palate. Choose London Dry if you enjoy classic juniper and citrus, or explore a botanical-forward gin if herbs, flowers, cucumber, or fresh citrus sound more appealing.

Find the Gin That Tastes Like Your Kind of Gin

Gin gets much easier once you stop looking for one “correct” bottle.

Juniper gives the category its foundation. From there, you get to choose the personality.

Maybe that means crisp and citrusy. Maybe you want flowers and cucumber. Maybe you love something herbal, earthy, spicy, or maritime. Perhaps you want a Martini gin with enough structure to announce itself before you even take a sip.

Those are useful things to know about yourself.

At Community Wine & Spirits, we spend a lot of time with gin, and we are always happy to help narrow the shelf down.

Tell us how you like to drink it and what flavors you enjoy. We can take it from there.