Best cheap gin?

muckety

Any gin enthusiasts out there who have been brave enough to try the cheaper gins available?

I'd like to have a go at making sloe gin but am reluctant to take a chance on my precious Tanqueray. Was thinking of getting something in (eg) Lidl or Aldi - any recommendations?

RDM_83 again

Not a massive gin drinker but like the odd G'n'T
Lidl Gin is drinkable, don't find it much worse than Cork Dry Gin,

If your in the north Sainsburies do some very nice gins for reasonable prices (I think Blackthorn is one)

Does anybody know the cheapest place to get Bombay Saphire?

muckety

I've found ASDA used to be the cheapest place for Bombay Sapphire but am rarely in the North anymore so haven't priced it in a while!

pa990

RDM_83 again wrote: »

...........
Does anybody know the cheapest place to get Bombay Saphire?

the only place is the duty free.. 47%abv

its a lot nicer than the 40% stuff we get here

enda1

The only ones I generally drink are Bombay Saphire and Hendrick's.

I find there is a really big difference in taste between gins, so these taste best to me. Never was a fan of Beefeater or Tanquary to be honest.

Regarding the cheaper ones, no great experience. I grew up drinking Bombay Saphire so never had to start at the bottom so to speak. Whenever I'm served a gin made from Cork Dry or Gordon's though, there really is a remarkable difference in taste, i.e. lack of taste I find.

IrishWhiskeyCha

Have you tried the Crimson Gin ? ... found it fairly decent (I only have a G&T once in the blue moon so no expert) Distiled in a pot still so the actual spirit would definately be of a better quality but could not tell you about the actual taste with the botanicals ... Bombay would be the other go to Gin for me also.

BeerNut

IrishWhiskeyCha wrote: »

Have you tried the Crimson Gin ?

It's amazing.

The Sainsbury's own-brand London Dry Gin is fairly drinkable for the price, IMO.

grenache

Not a gin drinker but.....my boss at work says that Rives Gin is of a very good quality given its price (13.99)

aonb

ok to drag up an old thread?
Im looking to make SLOE GIN.
Adding sugar and sloes to gin, so the base quality isnt too important.

The cheapest price for gin I can find is Tescos WINDSOR CASTLE LONDON DRY at €14.59 for 70cl. Anyone got any other suggestions? Id like to make a good bit, for Christmas presents etc.

dudara

The Aldi Hopkins gin has won several awards over the years.

Or if you know someone going through duty free, you could ask them to pick up a bottle

the beer revolu

dudara wrote: »

The Aldi Hopkins gin has won several awards over the years.

Or if you know someone going through duty free, you could ask them to pick up a bottle

I think Lidl have one for 14.20 or there abouts.
However, the better your gin, the better your sloe gin will be. You'd be surprised how much of the gin comes through.

I'd also advise steeping the fruit without sugar and adding it after straining to give more control.

I don't know why all recipes put sugar in the bottle - you don't need it for extraction.

aonb

the beer revolu wrote: »

I think Lidl have one for 14.20 or there abouts.
However, the better your gin, the better your sloe gin will be. You'd be surprised how much of the gin comes through.

I'd also advise steeping the fruit without sugar and adding it after straining to give more control.

I don't know why all recipes put sugar in the bottle - you don't need it for extraction.

Thats an interesting idea - will the sugar dissolve well in the sloe/gin?

It would be hard to had sugar and sloes to my lovely Bombay Sapphire

Ive been thinking about trying some Plum Brandy, but dont particularly care for brandy. Any suggestions for what would go well in vodka?

Alun

I use the cheapest gin I can find, either something from Aldi or Lidl, or Tesco Value gin. There's no point using anything more expensive.

As for making it I put the sugar in first along with the sloes and gin. It dissolves quite slowly, takes a couple of days usually, so adding it at the end of the process to taste would be pretty tedious I imagine.

the beer revolu

Alun wrote: »

I use the cheapest gin I can find, either something from Aldi or Lidl, or Tesco Value gin. There's no point using anything more expensive.
.

Have you tested this theory?
I would have said the same until I tried Monkey 47 sloe gin and we went on to make Blackwater hedgerow gin. You get much much more complexity with a nice aromatic gin.

the beer revolu

Alun wrote: »

As for making it I put the sugar in first along with the sloes and gin. It dissolves quite slowly, takes a couple of days usually, so adding it at the end of the process to taste would be pretty tedious I imagine.

Ah yeah, when we made our hedgerow gin, the fruit was steeped in 60%abv gin which meant we needed to add water so we brought it to strength with a sugar syrup.

I guess, in the homemade version, you don't want to add water so a syrup wouldn't work.

Still, my worry with putting it in the bottle at the beginning is that you can't take it out if there is too much.

the beer revolu

aonb wrote: »

Ive been thinking about trying some Plum Brandy, but dont particularly care for brandy. Any suggestions for what would go well in vodka?

Damsons