20 of the best gins to buy as gifts

We also have reviews of gin glasses plus expert gin taste tests, including round-ups of the best pink, sloe, citrus and rhubarb gin, plus gift guides like the best letterbox gifts to order online. Looking for a personalised gift idea? Put together a customised My BBC Good Food cookbook filled with your favourite recipes, or treat a loved one to one of our online cookery courses.

Best gins at a glance

• Best bottle design: Silent Pool, £37.99
• Best flavoured gin: Malfy con Arancia, £30.45
• Best for lovers of Pimm's: Tappers Hydropathic Pudding, £25.99
• Best classic gin: Beefeater London dry, £18.25
• Best crowd-pleasing gin: No.3 London dry gin, £36.75
• Best gin for a spin on tradition: Star of Bombay London dry gin, £35.45
• Best flavoured liqueur: Foxdenton Golden Apricot Liqueur, £27.50
• Best for pink gin fans: Big Smoke Rhubarb and Pink Lemonade gin, £35
• Best Scottish gin: Ben Lomond Blood Orange & Pink Grapefruit gin, £33
• Best award winning gin: Three Wrens Apple Crumble Edition Gin, £37.50
• Best back-to-basics gin: Death's Door Gin, £38.99
• Best flavoured gin gift set: Two Birds Watermelon and Strawberry Crush, £27
• Best gin gift from across the globe: Four Pillars rare dry gin, £34.95
• Best gin for a gin novice: Ableforth’s bathtub gin, £28.95
• Best aged gin: Few barrel-aged gin, £46.75
• Best gin for Martini lovers: Mare Mediterranean Gin, £41.75
• Best traditional English gin: Hepple Gin, £30.59
• Best vermouth to gift: Martini riserva speciale ambrato, £16.75
• Best 'gin' for non-drinkers: Seedlip non-alcoholic spirit, £21.99

Still looking for gift ideas? Our sister brand olive magazine has curated their own selection of hampers to choose from this year, full of gourmet artisan products selected by expert editors. The Gin and Tonic hamper is perfect for a gin fanatic, or treat someone to the Luxury Hamper filled with wine, cheese and more.

Browse the full selection of olive hampers on the olive shop here.

Best gins to buy as gifts 2023

Silent Pool (43% ABV)

Best bottle design

A gin that looks as great as it tastes – the aqua blue of the Silent Pool bottle is mesmerising. A delicious mix of chamomile, lavender and honey flavours, it's made on the Albury Estate in the Surrey Hills, so it's a real product of its location. Wrapping up a bottle of this will definitely earn you brownie points.

Malfy con Arancia (41% ABV)

Best flavoured gin gift

Give a taste of Italian sunshine with a bottle of Malfy gin. The colourful bottles make a brilliant addition to a bar cart, whilst the gin itself lives up to the promise too. The bold and zesty Malfy Con Arancia, made with a mixture of Italian oranges and Sicilian blood oranges, is our favourite (perfect for a summer spritz), or try the refreshing con Limone or tart Malfy Gin Rosa (with Sicilian grapefruit) options.

Tappers Hydropathic Pudding (32% ABV)

• Available from Master of Malt (£25.99)

Best for lovers of Pimm's

Some gin drinkers prefer a flavoured variation that adds a certain sweetness to the overall drink. This particular bottle is classed as a ‘fruit cup’, or a gin-based drink flavoured with herbs, spices and fruits – the gin version of Pimm's, essentially. Made in small batches in West Kirby, it's perfect when mixed with lemonade and should be served cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£25.99)

Beefeater London dry (40% ABV)

Best classic gin

Nothing beats a classic, and Beefeater is arguably the grandfather of gins. Crafted in central London, the distilling process still utilises copper pot stills to this day and, from the distillery’s home in Kennington, you can see directly into the Oval cricket ground. With juniper at its heart and balanced with botanicals, Beefeater is best when simply mixed with tonic and ice. It never goes wrong as a decent bottle to give on special occasions, and is widely available in supermarkets if you need something last-minute.

No.3 London dry gin (47% ABV)

Best crowd-pleasing gin

Produced by Berry Bros & Rudd (the oldest wine and spirits merchant in the UK), this gin takes some beating. Expect to find citrus, cardamom and lashings of all-important juniper. No.3 subscribes to the ‘if it ain’t broke, don't fix it’ mentality, and is all the better for it. Outstanding, simple and a crowd-pleaser.

Star of Bombay London dry gin (40% ABV)

• Available from Amazon (£35.45)

Best gin for a spin on tradition

With its distinctive blue bottle, Star of Bombay is produced in the beautiful surroundings of the Bombay Sapphire distillery at Laverstoke Mill. It's a punchy gin and is big on juniper, coriander and bergamot, bringing added intensity to your G&T. Do pay a visit to the distillery if you get the chance – its glasshouse is a thing of unadulterated beauty.

Available from:
Amazon (£35.45)

Foxdenton Golden Apricot Liqueur (17.5% ABV)

• Available from Foxdenton (£27.50), Slurp (£24.50)

Best flavoured liqueur

Imagine eating a bowl of poached apricots in the sun in the South of France - that is what this gin tastes like. Intensely fruity (made with Isle of Wight apricots and London Dry Gin) the apricot flavour comes mainly as an after taste when mixed with tonic, but is also more than sweet enough to be enjoyed on it’s own, and would work brilliantly with a cheeseboard. For something more festive, try the Christmas Liqueur made with Winslow plums and a blend of Christmas spices, in a striking red bottle that’s perfect for bringing out at Christmas parties.

Available from:
Foxdenton (£27.50, 70cl)
Slurp (£24.50)

Big Smoke Rhubarb and Pink Lemonade gin (37.5% ABV)

• Available from Big Smoke (£35), Master of Malt (£33.95)

Best for pink gin fans

The pink candy-stripe packaging of this bottle makes it perfect for gifting, along with the pretty much guarantee of it being a unique new flavour that the lucky recipient is unlikely to have tried before. Made in Southwest London, this sweet and refreshing gin is infused with English rhubarb, pink grapefruit to provide citrus notes for the ‘lemonade’ aspect and rose petals giving it a pale pink hue. Best served with a plain tonic to let the flavour come through.

Available from:
Big Smoke (£35)
Master of Malt (£33.95)

Ben Lomond Blood Orange & Pink Grapefruit gin (38% ABV)

• Available from Ben Lomond Gin (£33)

Best Scottish gin

Scottish gin Ben Lomond draws inspiration from Loch Lomond, using botanicals from the surrounding peaks to create vibrant flavoured gins alongside its classic Original. Our favourite is the newest Blood Orange and Pink Grapefruit, a zesty citrus gin inspired by vibrant Scottish sunsets. The grapefruit adds a sherbety touch to the sweet orange for a versatile bottle. For fans of berry gin, the Blackberry and Gooseberry gin has rich dark fruit aromas and well balanced tart fruit with a sweet finish.

Available from:
Ben Lomond Gin (£33)

Three Wrens Apple Crumble Edition Gin (40% ABV)

• Available from Amazon (£39.95), John Lewis (£37.50), Master of Malt (£37.50)

Best award winning gin

Apple crumble gin may sound like a novelty, but the awards quickly stack up for this quality bottle from Three Wrens: winning a 3-star Great Taste Award in 2021, gold at the World Gin Awards and gold at the 2021 World Gin Masters. Both apple and warming oat notes come through clearly in this unusual bottle, distilled with Cheshire apples, cinnamon and Demerara sugar for the sense of the classic pud in a glass without ever being too sweet.

Available from:
Amazon (£39.95)
John Lewis (£37.50)
Master of Malt (£37.50)

Death’s Door Gin (47% ABV)

• Available from Amazon (£35.09)

Best back-to-basics gin

In a world where most craft gins seem to stuff tons of botanicals into their recipes, this wonderful brand from America stands out for its simplicity. Death’s Door uses just three botanicals: juniper, coriander and fennel. The result is an earthy gin sure to impress for its outstanding balance.

Available from:
Amazon (£35.09)

Two Birds

• Available from Two Birds (£27)

Best flavoured gin gift set

For totally unique, high-quality gins, Two Birds is your pick. Founded in 2012, Two Birds produce small batch spirits (there’s rum and vodka alongside the gin) in unique flavours, often making the most of seasonal produce. The unique Watermelon Gin (37.5%) is a refreshing taste of summer holidays, perfect served super chilled in a spritz. Pair with the sweet Strawberry & Vanilla Gin in this pretty gift set.

Available from:
Two Birds (£27)

Four Pillars rare dry gin (41.8% ABV)

Best gin gift from across the globe

An Aussie gin built on the four pillars of a copper still, water from the Yarra Valley, local botanicals and a whole lotta love! Beautifully balanced, full-bodied and full of Aussie personality. A ray of sunshine from the southern hemisphere to chilly UK climates.

Ableforth's Bathtub Gin (43.3% ABV)

Best gift for a gin novice

One of the new wave of gins to hit shelves in the past few years, this is ‘compounded’ by adding the botanicals to a neutral spirit and steeping until the flavour develops. The result is a gin that is delicate yet balanced – perfect for the beginner.

Few barrel-aged gin (46.5% ABV)

• Available from Master of Malt (£46.75)

Best aged gin

Few is an independent outfit from Chicago where the distillers make their own spirits from scratch (a fairly rare occurrence). It is then redistilled with juniper, lemon peel, cassia bark and angelica before being enhanced by resting in an oak cask, which adds a vanilla complexity and golden colour.

Available from:
Master of Malt (£39.95)

Gin Mare (42.7% ABV)

• Available from Amazon (£36), Waitrose Cellar (£38), Master of Malt (£39.45)

Best gin for martini lovers

The martini is having a moment once again. The question is, how do you like yours? If you enjoy it with an olive rather than citrus zest, Gin Mare is the one for you. Rich and smooth, this Spanish gin has a distinct savoury backbone.

Available from:
Amazon (£36)
Waitrose Cellar (£38)
Master of Malt (£39.45)

Hepple gin (45% ABV)

• Available from Amazon (£33.99)

Best traditional English gin

When it comes to flavour, chefs know more than most. Hepple is distilled in the North East and is the brainchild of well-known chef and forager, Valentine Warner, and it shows. This is a gin made with passion and flavour at the very heart of it, and can be enjoyed simply over ice.

Available from:
Amazon (from £33.99)

Martini riserva speciale ambrato (18% ABV)

• Available from Ocado (£16)

Best vermouth to gift

Vermouth is to gin what McCartney was to Lennon: together they make a great pair, but as individuals, they're also star performers. For anyone who is building a decent collection of different gins, try giving them a bottle of Martini’s latest. It's spicy yet delicate, with blossoming elderflower notes.

Available from:
Ocado (£16)

Seedlip non-alcoholic spirit

Best 'gin' for non-drinkers

For someone who is teetotal or simply having a break from booze, Seedlip is the perfect go-to drink. Seedlip Garden 108 is a gin-like, alcohol-free distilled spirit that pairs brilliantly with tonic.

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This review was last updated in April 2023. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.