Just the tonic! Own-label supermarket gins beat big brands in taste test

IN just five years, gin has jumped from the back of the kitchen cupboard to the height of fashion, with sales doubling to more than £2billion.

But drinkers keen for a taste of the trend don’t need to look far – or break the bank.

In a blind taste test, supermarket own-label gins took four of the top five spots, beating some of the UK’s bestselling brands in the test by Which? of 11 gins under £20.

First place was awarded to Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Blackfriars Gin. The £16 gin was praised for its ‘complexity and balance’. Made by G&J Distillers, of Warrington, Cheshire, the gin is quadruple-distilled for purity and includes juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica roots, orange and lemon peel.

Second was Asda’s Extra Special Triple Distilled Premium Gin at £16, described as ‘herbaceous, piney and floral’. Lidl’s £16 Hortus Original London Dry Gin came fourth, with judges saying it had evolving flavours. In fifth place was Marks & Spencer’s £15 London Gin, praised for its ‘lovely silky mouthfeel’.

The only big brand in the top five was Tanqueray Dry Gin, £18, which came joint second and was described as ‘fantastically zesty when mixed with tonic’.

Harry Rose, of Which? magazine, said: ‘It’s good news for gin lovers that our test found some excellent high street contenders that don’t cost a fortune.’