Sipsmith : London Dry Gin

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for Sipsmith London Dry Gin

This spirit reveals a crystalline colour of striking purity, offering remarkable translucent brilliance, a direct reflection of its lack of mechanical filtration.

The bouquet opens with floral notes evoking summer meadows, followed by the roundness of juniper and a fresh zesty citrus lift. Complex aromas of honey-drizzled orange zest, musky angelica root and a subtle biscuity sweetness enrich this aromatic framework.

The tasting unfolds in three distinct waves. The attack asserts the identity of juniper with a pronounced pine character. The mid-palate moves towards bright citrus, reminiscent of lemon curd and mandarin. The long, smooth finish reveals sweet spices (cassia, cinnamon, coriander) melding into a light peppery note, rounded off by a creamy touch of liquorice and a hint of bitter orange.

This wonderfully versatile spirit can be enjoyed neat, to fully appreciate its subtlety and botanical complexity, or in the late afternoon or evening as the base for your most refined aperitifs.

Its botanical structure excels in classic cocktails. It is particularly recommended in a Martini (two parts gin to half a part dry vermouth, garnished with a lemon zest twist), in a classic Gin & Tonic with a premium tonic and a wedge of lime, or in a Negroni and a Gimlet, where its citrus and spice notes come fully into their own against bitterness or acidity.

Bottled at 41.6% alcohol, this gin retains all its botanical essences thanks to a meticulous distillation process, giving it a surprising density and texture on the palate for this alcohol strength.

A Pioneering, Artisanal London Dry Gin at the Heart of London by Sipsmith

Founded in 2009 by Sam Galsworthy, Fairfax Hall and Jared Brown, Sipsmith was the first copper-pot distillery to open its doors in London in nearly two centuries. A true pioneer, the brand had to have an 1823 law amended in order to obtain its licence, sparking the modern revival of gin in the United Kingdom. Now based in the Chiswick district, the distillery is built on values of traditional craftsmanship and uncompromising quality, embodied by its copper stills named Prudence, Constance and Verity. Certified B Corp since 2021 for its ethical and environmental commitments, the company combines responsibility with excellence. Although Sipsmith has been owned by the Beam Suntory group since December 2016, the founders remain at the operational helm, thereby ensuring the independence and visionary spirit of the estate.

This London Dry Gin stands out for its demanding and rare production method: "one-shot" distillation. Unlike industrial methods based on concentrates, each batch of this gin is distilled with the exact quantity of botanicals required, with no neutral alcohol added after distillation, aside from Lydwell spring water used for dilution.

The base is a pure English wheat spirit, in which ten meticulously sourced botanicals from around the world are macerated for fourteen to fifteen hours. These include juniper berries from Macedonia, coriander seeds from Bulgaria, French angelica root, liquorice and almonds from Spain, orris root from Italy, orange peel from Seville and lemon peel from Spain, as well as cassia from China and cinnamon from Madagascar. During distillation, only the "heart" of the run is kept to guarantee absolute purity and a perfect aromatic balance.

Since 2023, this London Dry Gin has been presented in a redesigned bottle to minimise its environmental impact. Lightened by 20% and made from 44% recycled glass, the bottle does away with the wax seal in favour of an ergonomic design featuring wave-like motifs, echoing the house's famous copper still swan neck.