Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Owned by Diageo, Tanqueray is a brand positioned as premium but that isn’t the highest in the Tanqueray portfolio.   Tanqueray London Dry Gin is positioned as their entry level brand, while they market Tanqueray No 10 Gin as their premium offering.  Most people won’t ever get to realizing this though, as Tanqueray frequently is seen as a premium brand in bars and restaurants.   Distilled for nearly 200 years, it’s one of the most recognizable gin brands in the world.  Despite this, it’s affordable.  So should it have a home in your home bar?

Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Sight: Clear

Smell: Soft to start with touches of vanilla. Juniper leads off heavily, pulls in touches of cinnamon and spicing.  Touches of lemon and other citrus comes in, and hints of exotic spicing joins in.  There’s a hint of heat.

Sip:   The start is similarly soft and smooth, but the heat turns up relatively quickly.  A bit of sweetness is responsible for this start, which lasts throughout.  Juniper is the dominate note, but it’s complimented by a spicy character.  There’s notes of angelica and cinnamon that are prevalent.   Other sorts of herbal notes are really not as obvious at the spice touches.

Savor: On the ending, the finish has a kick up of heat and more of a powdered cinnamon and touch of red hot style spice.  Juniper eventually overwhelms the other notes.

Tanqueray London Dry Gin is a  little hot, slightly sweet, and more spicy than a typical London dry gin.  That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, it has the underlying Juniper flavor that you’d expect from gin.  The spice is also not nearly as pronounced as a contemporary style of gin.  Overall, it creates a very good opportunity layering flavors on top.

In Cocktails

In a Martini the underlying spice plays a strong foil to the herbal notes in the vermouth.  The brightness compliments the sweetness well, and it lends a clean, refreshing character to the drink.  The ending lingers with more spice and subtle.  The juniper is there, but due to the spice, it holds itself in check.  Tanqueray may be a little wild on it’s own, but it also plays well with others.

In Review – Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Tanqueray London Dry Gin works well in cocktails, even if it doesn’t necessarily break new ground.  Individuals that aren’t a big fan of juniper might struggle with Tanqueray and look toward Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire.  That said, if you like juniper and spice, then Tanqueray plays well with others.  The price being close to equal with Beefeater and Bombay puts Tanqueray into the recommended bottles for a home bar.