What are the top 5 gins?

'Can you tell me about the top five gins?'

This is a difficult question because high sales do not always equate to high quality.

Everyone has a different way of saying what their top gin is.

• Is it the go-to gin for when you’ve come in after a hard day?

• Is it the special gin you have before eating at your favourite restaurant?

• Is it the one that’s on special offer at your local supermarket?

• Is it the one with the great bottle and label?

• Or is it the one that started your love affair with gin all those years ago?

Gin by sales

In 2020, sales of gin in the UK hit £2.2 billion.

Top of the list are:

Gordons, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray and Beefeater. 

As a tiny distillery in comparison to these giants, York Gin is way down the list.

England: a land of distillers

England has hundreds of gin makers - and the numbers are growing all the time. Some are international names, making millions of bottles. Others are very local small distilleries, making small numbers of bottles by hand.

The county of Yorkshire alone has over 40 gin makers - here’s our map

Yorkshire’s top gin makers include York Gin, Slingsby and Masons. All three regularly win awards at the world’s top spirits competitions.

How to choose

When you’re trying to decide who’s top, look out for the quality and craftsmanship,

sustainability and environmental credentials, and the story behind the brand. Find out if there’s a gin distillery near you, or distillery where you’re going on holiday. Try to book in for a tour or a visit. Or if you’re in York, visit the York Gin shop for a chat with our famous friendly gin experts and have a taster of any or all six of our gins!

A great way to work out what you love and don't like so much is to really try to taste. Follow our four tips to help you taste like a pro

As well as York Gin, our favourites include:

Martin Millers (England)

Portobello Road (England)

Roku (Japan)

Monkey 47 (Germany)

Sustainable & Responsible

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the gin industry - as it is everywhere. So you may want to try to find out what your gin maker of choice is doing to minimise their impact on the environment. 

At York Gin, we use 100% green energy, all our base spirit is made in Yorkshire from grain grown on Yorkshire farms. Also our bottles, labels and packaging are all made in Yorkshire and our bottles and packaging are plastic free. We travel in emission-free electric vehicles and we are on our way to becoming carbon neutral. 

We also pay the Living Wage, support local charities and good causes and really try to have a positive impact on the local economy, people and everyone we work with.