Top 10 Best New Gins

The international gin market has exploded in recent years. With new gins appearing on both supermarket shelves and sat behind the bar of your local pub. With the likes of Gordon’s and Bombay Sapphire once having dominated sales, brewery and distillery tours show this is no longer the case.

However, with an influx of newer bespoke brands and distilleries, along with a change in customer demographics, the gin world is only just getting started.

Top 10 Best New Gins for 2020

With both the major players and small independents competing for a piece of the action, we take a look at some of the best new gins for 2020.

• • Kyoto Dry Gin – Ki No Bi
  • Tobermory Hebridean Gin
  • Scapegrace Black Gin
  • Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin
  • Rock Rose Gin Spring Edition
  • Isle of Wight Mermaid Gin
  • Saville Row Gin
  • Brewdog Zealots Heart
  • Portsmouth Fort Gin
  • Diplomatico Canaima Gin

Book one of our bespoke brewery and distillery tours and you'll discover even more! Alternatively, you may be interested in our look at some of the best microbreweries in Europe.

Kyoto Dry Gin – Ki No Bi

Ok, so we start our findings at a brand positioned within the high-end marketplace. It’s price point being slightly more than its competitors, so worth shopping around. As for what you get for your money, this is a premium gin courtesy of the Kyoto Distillery from Japan.

Kyoto have been receiving great praise within the press from around the world. Made particularly special due to its key ingredient of tea leaves picked from a 15th century Japanese garden.

Tobermory Hebridean Gin

At just £34 per 70cl bottle, one of Scotland’s latest offerings is much more competitively priced for the everyday customer.

The Tobermory Distillery is one that has only opened in the past year, yet its combination of delicate touches and a splash of whisky make for an intriguing combination. Botanicals such as elderflower and wild heather a contrast against the headier addition of a shot of whisky during the distillation process.

Scapegrace Black Gin

In contrast to the classics, many new gins are trying different techniques or introducing alternate flavour combinations to appeal to the younger drinker.

However, the Scapegrace distillery from New Zealand are taking things one step further. As they launch what’s believed to be the world’s first colour changing gin. The idea being that when initially poured, the dark black gin reacts with tonic water to become a lighter shade of purple.

This isn’t just for novelty effect, as the £44 bottle also has a wonderful flavour. Thanks largely to the use of the sweet tasting black Aronia berries.

Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin

Another company experimenting a little is that of Brookie’s Byron, albeit with a focus on flavour. While the zest of limes and a touch of mint may be familiar to the palette, raspberry and macadamia nuts give this one a slightly different angle.

Brookie gin has been a firm favourite for a while back home in Australia, however, has only recently made it over to the UK. As such, meaning from £39 a bottle, you can ship Australia’s favourite gin to almost anywhere in between.

Rock Rose Gin Spring Edition

The taste of Spring in a bottle is a concept beautifully replicated by Dunnet Bay Distillers. Who combines the feel of a crisp Spring morning with that of locally sourced ingredients.

In particular, having foraged the surrounding areas to produce a sweet and earthy gin, complete with liquorice undertones. What also makes this particular gin great, is once you find yourself nearing the end of the bottle, you can order online. Which may not be unusual in itself, but the delivery comes in the form of a pouch refill, that can just be slipped through your letterbox.

Isle of Wight Mermaid Gin

Even before opening the bottle, the design shows elegance and class. The fish-like scales adorn the bottle, resulting in winning the best design category at the recent International Wine and Spirits Awards.

Not only that, but the spirit itself also lives up the accolade. By sticking to traditional English flavours, the IOW based distillery has produced a classic London style dry gin. Available for £49 a bottle at selected retailers.

Saville Row Gin

Another of the London Gin’s comes from the capital itself. The famous Saville Row is a street in Mayfair. Albeit one normally associated with some of the country’s finest tailors and male grooming, rather than gin.

As such, even as one of our best new gins for 2020, this Saville Row Gin is presented with a label that stands out with its simplicity. The blend of 12 botanicals, including kumquat alongside citrus elements, is made in collaboration with 40 year-old model David Gandy.

Given its reference point to high-class, bespoke fashion, you’ anticipate it to come at a price. In fact, at £35 it’s pretty much a bargain compared to others aiming at a similar market.

Brewdog Zealots Heart

Strictly speaking, this was a small batch produced for the Christmas period, however, it was very well-recieved. As such, putting Brewdog on the spirit map. Since being established in 2007, Brewdog is normally associated as having made its mark on the craft beer market.

However, it probably comes as no surprise that the Scottish based company wish to spread their wings to incorporate the wider market. After all, larger corporations often want to get involved in a growing trend.

That said, Zealots Heart is more than just a token effort. It’s a bottle that comes with a wide variety of flavours, combining citrus fruits with that of spice and peppercorn.

Portsmouth Fort Gin

If you’re visiting the south coast of England, then the Portsmouth Distillery Company can be found at a number of local food and drink festivals. Operating out of the historic fort Cumberland, this independent distillery truly embraces its surroundings.

Based in a naval city, it's no wonder rum was to be the main inspiration behind the company. However, this rich and floral yet smooth, velvet-like gin is certainly going to be a hit with the local sailors and beyond.

Diplomatico Canaima Gin

Possibly one of the more remote new gins on our list comes from the deep Amazon jungle of South America.

While utilizing ingredients found within the surrounding flora and fauna, Diplomatico is keen to ensure an ethical approach to their product. As such, this is only to be produced in small batches, while helping to preserve the exotic plants used within its botanicals.

These include acai berries, merey fruit and copuazu (a relative of the cacao tree). What’s more, 10% of sales are put back into the Tierra Viva Foundation and Saving the Amazon.

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