The Best Way To Drink Gin For The Full Flavor Experience

Every style of spirit comes with a customary mode of consumption. The right way to drink mezcal is slowly, out of a wide-rimmed vessel to savor the aroma. Meanwhile, fans of whiskey will pour the liquor into a glass, then gradually add water drip by drip, working to open the aroma. Yet when it comes to gin, there's no such culture of straight consumption.

The spirit's botanical flavors are instead showcased in cocktails, most famously the gin and tonic (which you should drink in a balloon-shaped glass). Nevertheless, for a full flavor experience, go ahead and try the spirit neat. Especially whenever the bottle's high quality, you'll be impressed. Gin offers a surprisingly smooth character, backed by its full display of floral, citrus, earthy, and piney notes. Yes, there will be juniper, but craft gins employ hundreds of different botanicals in the spirit. And sampling the liquor straight will enable really telling apart the details, showcasing the booze in a new lens.

Variety is a large part of gin's appeal. U.S. regulation allows for the spirit to be mixed or distilled through varying forms, as long as juniper berries form the prominent note. As opposed to vodka, the spirit's built for expansive range, and comes in many substyles. So, to best appreciate the nuance and breadth of the liquor, sampling neat is hugely valuable. Even if your goal is to assemble delicious gin cocktails, drinking straight will showcase the flavor in a more fleshed out form, helping you build a better drink.

First, notice the nose — the botanicals will hit the smell receptors before you even take a gulp. Upon contact with the tongue, the first impression will be the mouthfeel — which could be harsh — but tends to be soft in well-made gins. Then, you'll get the layers of botanicals, which follow a distinct trajectory depending on the bottle. At the end, there will be a bit of burn; it is a straight spirit, after all. However in a nice bottle, the harshness is minimal, concluding the full-flavored experience. And if you're feeling intimidated by the intensity of flavor, start off by sampling sweetened bottles or barrel-aged Old Tom; they'll welcome with a more gentle palate. Work your way through several bottles, and you'll likely find a favorite.