to think posh gin is a scam

[pisacake]

Basically it's industrial ethanol with flavourings. It's not like cognac or something where you potentially start with a good wine and distil it. It is literally just a flavoured, diluted ethanol.

So the production cost could vary perhaps £1 or £2 at most between the cheapest Asda Smart Price and the super-duper-deluxe.

And blind taste tests repeatedly pick the cheapo ones.

metro.co.uk/2017/07/27/aldis-10-gin-declared-one-of-best-in-world-by-experts-6811653/

Just marketing.

I once went to a whiskey distillery where the alcohol was distilled in a small copper still. It was as small batch as you can legally get. The product was absolutely vile, just like most raw alcohol. What you're tasting is flavouring added after distilling.

I'm with the OP, love gin but think a lot of it is vastly overpriced and overarrated. It's not an expensive drink to make at the end of the day. I noticed that a lot of the whiskey distilleries I visited recently had started producing gin. There's a reason for that- it's a cheap, quick sideline (unlike whiskey which has to stay in the barrel for 3 years min). I would happily pay £40 for their whiskey but no way would I spend £30 on their gin.

That's disappointing, is it the same with most spirits though? I have vague memories of a tour at Glenfiddich and them saying 70% of the mix is generic alcohol.

Can you buy the alcohol and make your own gin, or would you have to buy vodka?

Yeah I'm sure there's a cost, it's just I'm not convinced it bears any resemblance to the price.

Supply and demand!

I like gin and have been to a few gin tasting events and a distillery. People often buy me fancy gin, but I just really like Gordon's. I think with gin it has more to do with the aromatics they put in - some gins are more citrusy and some are more juniper-y, some more floral etc. So IMO it comes down to what each individual likes taste wise not what is "good" or "bad"

Actually I also really like Ophir.
I have found though that I always hate any particularly citrusy ones, cheap or expensive.

I've stopped having tonic with my gins .. Ran out one night so had gin with lots of ice and water and was delighted by the subtle tastes that came through . soft bottled water really lovely with it ... Trouble is makes it easier to drink too much....

Edinburgh Gins are nice but because they are gin liqueurs, it's the added sugar that makes them taste so good I think?

That's exactly how I feel, kitten. Gordon's all the way for me. I dont get the Gordon's hate, can't decide if it's snobbishness or because it has quite a distinct flavour. I have tasted quite a few "fancy" gins that taste exactly like Gordon's or a blander version of it.
I personally can't stand the aniseedy gins- bleugh.
Love the Edinburgh rhubarb liqueur but it doesn't taste remotely like gin.

I've visited Sipsmith and the Six o'clock gin people and they both talked about discarding more of the heads and tails than cheaper brands.
(When you distill, less pleasant tasting (and v bad for you) things like methanol are present in the start and end of what comes out) So that will up the cost.
Having said that I like Gordon's, not so keen on Bombay, but lots of fancy brands are very nice, others not to my taste.

As for the base spirit being petrol, well petrol is a mixture of all sorts of things that are chains of carbon atoms. You burn petrol, oxygen bonds to the carbon atoms and energy is released. Alcohol is just another hydrocarbon so it burns too. Doesn't mean I'd advise drinking petrol any more than I would advise drinking 100% alcohol.

Adnams make their alcohol.

I've seen their beautiful stills.

Even if they didn't, something being more expensive than something else is not "a scam".

I might pay money for a pencil line drawing from an artist I like. Is it "a scam" because it's just the same pencil and paper I could buy from a shop? No.

Someone has put in some work to choose the recipe.

Adnams (whose Gin is lovely) are very clear about the distilling process they do adnams.co.uk/about/news/spirits-news/how-we-make-spirits/ It is actually fascinating science.

Sorry I was posting when Trill posted.But glad we agree!

I can't stand the taste of gin but I'm very happy it's currently a craze because I love tonic and there's so much more of a range now.

So I'm very grateful to everyone buying the premium brands and increasing demand for variety

"I've visited Sipsmith and the Six o'clock gin people and they both talked about discarding more of the heads and tails than cheaper brands.
(When you distill, less pleasant tasting (and v bad for you) things like methanol are present in the start and end of what comes out) So that will up the cost. "

Hmm, not so sure about that really.

London gin (specifically) is already more regulated to max 0.002% methanol as against normal gin which is 0.01% max methanol, whereas say red wine is max 0.04% methanol. (Wine has more methanol as grapes are considered 'woody' and hence creating methanol).

So while methanol is definitely nasty, it's not clear to me that vague marketing promises about using purer spirit really mean something, as the base spirit is already by law very pure.

I think it just comes down to which flavourings you like the best.

"and they both talked about discarding more of the heads and tails than cheaper brands.
(When you distill, less pleasant tasting (and v bad for you) things like methanol are present in the start and end of what comes out) So that will up the cost. "

Hmm, not so sure about that really.

Well sorry @pisacake but that's fecking science.

When you distill - whether it's whisky or gin or whatever, the skill is in knowing when to start collecting the distillate and when to stop. The same compounds distill at the same times, plus the still operator will nose the spirit at intervals.

Also someone is actually adding sacks of juniper berries + whatever other botanicals in correct proportions to the still to make this stuff. Not just "flavours"

I actually don't like gin much myself but its not like flavoured vodka if it's decent distilled stuff. :)

I've just had my first bottle of Rhubarb Gin..it was lovely but very £££'s

I hoping to God Aldi come up with their version

In Elgin Iast week, I tried Arbikie Kirsty's gin and absolutely loved it. Distilled locally and with a really clean taste.

I'm confused OP. So even your small batch producer isn't distilling their own alcohol? They're just buying it in? Is that the problem?

"Well sorry @pisacake but that's fecking science.

When you distill - whether it's whisky or gin or whatever, the skill is in knowing when to start collecting the distillate and when to stop. The same compounds distill at the same times, plus the still operator will nose the spirit at intervals.
"

Well no it's not science, it's marketing blather. The question is do they use a purer alcohol than the already extremely pure alcohol mandated (specifically for London gin) by law? Or are they just dressing up the legal requirements for their product as something special.

And, how many impurities do the 'dirtiest' gins and vodkas actually contain as against the supposedly super pure ones and can anyone taste a difference.

Oh ok... you're right and we're all wrong.

The super pure alcohol thing....i don't know. The whole point of neutral alcohol is that you've distilled it to have as few impurities as possible. So I'd maybe say that is a bit marketing spin.

Pisacake, you speak with such authority dismissing it as marketing blather. Do you want to back up your opinion with facts or tell us any reason why we should take your opinion to be anything other than... your opinion?

I've given plenty of facts. The type and purity of the alcohol is mandated by law.