Why gin is in

Americans are rediscovering gin, said Robert Plotkin in the Wine Enthusiast. Tired of vodka’s “carnival-like parade of flavors,” they’re returning to traditional gins and discovering new ones. A guide to the best:

Plymouth English Gin

The “Chanel No. 5” of gins. An exuberant juniper bouquet.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Hendrick’s

This Scottish import is flavored with rose petals, cucumber, juniper, and coriander.

Beefeater London Dry Gin

Exquisitely dry, and bottled “at a lip-tingling 94 proof.”

Cadenhead’s Old Raj

This 110-proof spirit includes saffron, which lends a “citrus and spice bouquet.”

Whitley Neill London Dry Gin

Bold African flavors of wild gooseberries and the orange-like fruit of the baobab tree.

Junipero Gin

From Anchor Steam brewery in San Fran­cisco. Smooth, “magnificently dry,” and an exceptionally high 98.6 proof.