Oxley Small Batch Premium Gin, Coldcraft Distilled in Sub-Zero Temperatures for Vivid Botanical Clarity, 47% ABV, 70cl / 700ml

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By 1830, beer became cheaper than gin for the first time in over a century,” Brown says. “England became, for a few minutes, a nation of beer drinkers once again.” The Gin Road to Redemption Clean and classic, it makes a beautiful Martini— no matter your preference, whether, dry, wet, dirty or otherwise. It’s also really top notch in a Gin and Tonic with a pleasant and bright juniper note. It’s almost quintessential to the point of cliche— it’s just what you sort of expect— but in a really good way. Gin Lane,” on the other hand, on your right, shows a rather depressing scene of people losing their literal minds to gin. In “Gin Lane,” a gin-drunk mother drops her baby over the side of a staircase, an inebriated man beats himself over the head with some bellows while toting a baby impaled on a spike, a suicidal barber, lots of syphilis sores, and other charming moments. It's time to go old school and get a taste of gin brands that have revived the oldest gin recipes in the world. We begin with the oldest of the two, genever.

Sometimes called Dutch gin or Holland gin, genever is a sweetened style of gin that originated in the Netherlands. Today, it is only distilled in that country and in neighboring areas of Europe. The biggest name in genever is Bols, and it is one of the few brands that is available worldwide. This led to a period in England that is often dubbed the ‘Gin Craze,’ a period where a pint of gin was cheaper than a pint of beer,” Ford says. The fourteen botanicals in Oxley Gin are Juniper, grapefruit, orange, lemon, coriander, cassia bark, liquorice, angelica root, orris root, almonds, cocoa nibs, meadowsweet, vanilla and nutmeg.

But Oxley does differentiate itself with its incredibly low distillation temperature. They distill below the freezing point of water.

Invented in 2006 with nature as our muse, and flavour as the cause, it took eight years of obsession and experimentation to perfect Oxley Gin. Like many other brands, Bols has expanded their genever selection. Beyond the original, you can find barrel-aged bottles, which are rested in French Limousin oak casks for 18 months. To distill a gin you need to boil alcohol. You do this by applying heat until the liquid reaches its boiling point (usually around 78°C). However, cold distillation is carried out under reduced atmospheric pressures, causing the alcohol to boil at lower temperatures. This brings a more intense taste, allowing the botanicals to stay truer to their natural state. Oxley takes this process to the extreme, chilling the still below freezing to find full-on flavour. Cold Distillation occurs at -5 degrees celcius capturing the natural flavours of the botanicals and preserving them in the final spirit.Martin Miller's is a modern take on traditional gin. It has that wonderful juniper dominance of a London dry and it is perfectly balanced, crisp, clean and simply an extravagant gin. No effort is spared in the selection of only the finest quality botanicals. Some are peeled by hand, while others are cut or ground. They are then weighed and measured by hand to precisely the right proportions. Aviation's choice of a rye base gives this gin a creamier mouthfeel than most gins. It is a gin that you can enjoy chilled on its own, which is great news for super dry martini fans.

Gin can only be bestowed with that title if it contains juniper as one of its botanicals and has a minimum alcohol content of 37.5% ABV. Oxley Gin was among the first mainstream gin releases that was “cold distilled,” meaning that it is distilled at lower temperatures. While it’s not the only cold-distilled game in town anymore, Oxley Gin still leads with it on its label— Oxley Cold Distilled London Dry Gin. Bols Geneverwas on the U.S. marketuntil Prohibitionand was not available again until the summer of 2008. It is bottled at 42 percent ABV (84 proof), and a bottle typically sells for the same price as any premium gin.Some distillers say that this reduces the risk of what some distillers refer to as the “cooking” of the botanicals. Applying heat— as one does in cooking— does transform flavor profiles somewhat. By using a lower temperature vacuum distillation, Oxley Gin manages to capture some of the fleeting aromas that normal distillation might lose.

We may be a nation of gin and tonic devotees, but that doesn’t mean that your imagination has to stop at ‘ice and a slice’. Take inspiration from a bottle’s botanicals, and choose a couple of those as a fresh garnish. Our favourites include slices of cucumber, a sprig of rosemary or a wedge of grapefruit, to name but a few.

What botanicals does Oxley include?

Feather & Folly is an unusual gin, distilled from sustainably farmed vinifera grapes. Feather & Folly During the 18th century, gin was by and large the most heavily vilified spirit,” Erik Delanoy, New York brand ambassador for Oxley Gin, says. “It was blamed for the death of thousands by overconsumption, murder, negligence, and insanity, which incited measures to outlaw its production and consumption, but to little avail.” If you have yet to taste genever, it is unlike any other gin you've had. This style of gin is as if a soft Scotch whisky were married with gin, and Bols' malty feel is a perfect example. Based on Lucas Bols' original recipe from 1820, it has a wonderful balance of sweet malt and subdued juniper and citrus. It is triple distilled using equal parts malt wine and neutral grain spirits that are infused with natural flavors. Things took a turn for the weirder in 1751, hallmarked by a series of very dark etchings (read: propaganda) by William Hogarth. “Beer Street,” displayed on the left side of the top of this article, depicted the relative safety of beer drinking. You will find the gin to be very aromatic and filled with rich flavors, making it a true delight for any gin lover.