The 16 Best Gins In Australia For Your Home Bar Right Now

Ah yes, gin: the stuff one makes whilst waiting for their whisky to pan out.

Jokes aside, there are only a handful of spirits that can lay similar claim to the privilege of working well in mixed beverages as enlivening a simple spritz of tonic. For impassioned gin drinkers, versatility really is the name of the game.

Earlier this year, we covered (in exhaustive detail) a number of our favourite Australian gin distilleries around the country. In this Buyer’s Guide, we’ll be opening up the field for gin lovers to consider other excellent gins made elsewhere in the world.

Of course, we’ve managed to sneak in a few more Aussie gins for good measure — read the full list below.

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BH Approved: The Best Gin You Can Buy In Australia (Overall)

Often sold as the world’s first “truly 100% Japanese gin,” Ki No Bi is made (from distillation to bottling) in the old imperial capital of Kyoto.

Just as you’ll find lemon myrtle and finger limes in a disproportionate number of the best Australian gin, the secret to KI NO BI’s deliciously balanced and complex flavour profile is its usage of native Japanese botanicals.

Working backwoods from a laundry list of 60 ingredients, the Ki No Bi distilling team — which, incidentally, includes numerous whisky makers and local sake brewers — focused on a number of quintessential Japanese flavours.

You’ll taste Uji green tea, sanshō peppercorns, ripe yellow yuzu, and hinoki wood chips: all threaded together on a clean rice spirit distilled in Kyoto’s traditional Fushimi Sake District.

By no means inexpensive (it’s always worth securing a bottle or two if you’re travelling through Haneda Airport) I’m of the personal opinion that this is a huge boon to mid-century cocktails built around only a handful of ingredients.

Presented in hand-blown glass bottles decorated with a karakami (‘woodblock print’) motif, these also make for wonderful gifts.

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Jump To:

• BH Approved: The Best Gin You Can Buy In Australia (Overall)
• The Best Gins In Australia
  • Never Never Distilling Co. Southern Strength Gin
  • Hickson House Oyster Shell Gin
  • Berry Bros & Rudd No. 3 Gin
  • Brookie’s Byron Slow Passion Gin
  • Citadelle Original Gin
  • Nikka Coffey Gin
  • Procera ‘Blue Dot’ Gin
  • Tanqueray ‘No. 10’ Batch-Distilled Gin
  • Aviation American Gin
  • Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin
  • Malfy ‘Con Arancia’ Gin
  • Peddler’s Gin Co. Shanghai Gin
  • The Botanist Islay Dry Gin
  • Roku Japanese Craft Gin
  • Gordon’s London Dry Gin

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The Best Gins In Australia

Never Never Distilling Co. Southern Strength Gin

The latest seasonal offering from one of Australia’s most revered craft gin distilleries, Never Never’s Southern Strength is an intensely aromatic and “immediately delicious” gin, bottled at high proof.

With oily botanical compounds (there’s plenty of lemon zest and angelica root straight out of the gate) this gin demonstrates flavour that drinkers can literally see — clouding and swirling, as you add soda, lime cordial, or any of the other classic accompaniments to juniper.

Along with the cool, hilly terroir of the distillery, Never Never’s decision to tweak the ratios in its award-winning ‘Triple Juniper’ recipe has resulted in an autumnal gin that’s perfect in cocktail serves. Naturally, like any high-end juniper spirit, you can hoof this neat or as part of the classic G&T; but we reckon it’d be a crying shame if you didn’t try it, at least once, Gimlet-style.

Hickson House Oyster Shell Gin

The newly-launched Hickson House Oyster Gin is a welcome addition to the local lineup (and quite a well-timed release, given we’re approaching summer)newly launched.

Meticulously crafted from the homegrown distillery’s multi-award-winning Classic Dry Gin, this premium spirit uses native Australian ingredients — including locally sourced Sydney Rock Oysters — for a delightfully savoury result.

The Oyster Gin’s subtle salinity is perfectly complemented by seaside botanicals and notes of citrus: old man saltbush, seaweed, and tarragon, as well as finger lime and ruby grapefruit. It’s essentially the essence of the pristine Australian coastline captured in a bottle.

Excellent in a Martini, even better in a White Negroni.

Berry Bros & Rudd No. 3 Gin

When one considers how much time and effort Berry Bros — that most legendary of British alcohol importers — put into making its own ‘No. 3’ gin, it’s bewildering that it also costs under $100.

Made to a proprietary recipe co-developed by Dr David Clutton (the only scientist in the world to hold a PhD in gin), it should come as no surprise that Berry Bros’ flagship is in the classic ‘London Dry’ style.

Made using traditional copper pot stills in Holland (the spiritual birthplace of gin) No. 3 is full of grapefruit, juniper and coriander seed notes that go perfectly with the sensation of a classic a la minute cocktail.

Great with tonic or in a range of punches, it also just so happens to be one of legendary barman Alessandro Palazzi’s go-to pours for the (in)famous DUKES Bar Martini. You know what to do.

Brookie’s Byron Slow Passion Gin

Something different from the team at Cape Byron Distillery, ‘Slow Passion’ is a fuchsia-tinged flavour explosion: made by macerating the local area’s Davidson plums in the ever-popular Brookie’s Byron Dry Gin for several months.

The result is an unconventional flavoured release that is bright, tangy, and just about perfect during warmer months. Cape Byron has even put together a shortlist of original gin cocktails: all formulated with the zingy flavour of ‘Slow Passion’ in mind.

Citadelle Original Gin

Full-bodied and invigorating, it might surprise some to discover that Citadelle gin is in fact marketed within the wider gin industry as a ‘London Dry’ style, and moreover, distilled in Cognac.

Produced with the famed French region’s traditional charentais pot stills (noted for its distinctive onion shape and reliance on direct-flame heating) this distillation process yields a clean, slightly resinous spirit that is a little bit sweeter and creamier on the finish than what you’ll find in most of the craftier Australian gin brands.

For a unique Francophile twist, consider whipping this up into a ‘Peche Collins’: a riff on the refreshing Tom Collins cocktail, thankfully still with plenty of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Nikka Coffey Gin

Both a herbaceous yet also incredibly zesty proposition, this bottling by Nikka is the famed Japanese whisky distiller’s signature gin — intended to highlight the sheer personality conferred by the all-important ‘Coffey’ still.

Built around a ‘new make’ spirit that utilises a blend of barley and corn, the practical effect (even before you start adding all the emblematic Japanese citruses like kabosu and amanatsu) is of a gin that is imbued with an exceptionally long finish — starting off tart before dovetailing into a not-unpleasantly hoppy finish.

Complex and wildly distinctive, we’d say the best way to enjoy Nikka Coffey Gin is to keep all your accompaniments simple. Good quality tonic water, a slice of lemon peel; and you’re off.

Procera ‘Blue Dot’ Gin

An expensive and unusual bottling that routinely picks up World Gin Awards (most notably at the 2021 SFWSC) Kenyan distiller Procera’s ‘Blue Dot’ makes a strong case for the argument we should all be drinking more African gin.

The company derives its name from the procera variety of juniper: a unique botanical that only grows a kilometre above sea level in the highlands of Kenya. Yielding a distinctly nutty and savoury flavour that simply cannot be achieved in the much more widely employed juniper communis; it’s an increasingly frequent sight on-premise at luxury hotels around the globe — an indication of Procera’s lofty ambitions.

If ‘Blue Dot’ is any indication, the brand certainly has the technical chops to back its vision up: fresh yet spicy without a hint of the unresolved ethanolic harshness you’d get from a mass-produced dry gin, there’s a weightiness here that will even appeal to inveterate whisky drinkers.

Served in a Gibson or over a diamond-clear chunk of ice, we can’t say enough good things about this drop.

Tanqueray ‘No. 10’ Batch-Distilled Gin

The Solange to Tanqueray London Dry Gin’s Beyoncé, ‘No. 10’ is named for the eponymous Diageo brand’s number 10 pot still (affectionally nicknamed ‘Tiny Ten’). As my hackneyed metaphor would suggest, the former has more niche, yet arguably discerning, appeal.

For ‘No. 10’, Tanqueray perform the primary distillation using ‘Tiny Ten’. The still’s steam-jacket-heated construction imbues the resulting alcohol with a punchy “citrus heart”; and on top of that, the brand throws a bunch of extra botanicals into the traditional Tanqueray recipe (things like chamomile and, crucially, fresh grapefruit).

From this initial ‘run’ (in total, No. 10 will usually be distilled three times) only 60% of the spirit that comes off the still will be kept; ensuring that the vibrant fresh citrus characteristics remain intact at bottling.

Offering a fantastically rounded drinking experience — one in which the juniper and zesty fruit flavours support a creamy, almost sherbet-y mouthfeel — I’d go so far as to say this is essential for those who like making Martinis at home.

Aviation American Gin

Very much a part of the zeitgeist thanks to some choice, below-the-line placement initiated by Ryan Reynolds (the Deadpool actor took a famously high-profile stake in 2018) Aviation has been a part of the Diageo drinks empire since 2020.

The brand’s flagship ‘American’ gin shares a couple of thematic parallels with great Australian gins. Namely: the use of interesting botanicals; an emphasis on ‘sippability’; and branding that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

True to the name, Aviation is distilled in the US city of Portland, Oregon. While the brand’s facilities do not include a dedicated gin distillery (vodka and malt whiskey are also made here) it’s hard to argue with the results — as many bartenders who’ve used the stuff will tell you.

Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin

Pricey, complex, and one of the earliest forerunners in the now-popular ‘premium’ gin segment; we’ve all got that one mate who’s very pleased with themselves for drinking Monkey 47 exclusively.

All banter aside, there’s a reason why this is among the most prolific award-winning gins to come to prominence in the last decade. For starters, the list of botanicals is 47 ingredients long — with the majority sourced from within Germany’s fabled and picturesque Black Forest.

There’s also a touch of the vinous art about Monkey 47: unusually for a gin, it is stored for around 100 days in earthern casks following distillation — a technique said to contribute to its unconventional, almost cologne-esque combo of olfactory notes. Definitely, one to try neat.

Malfy ‘Con Arancia’ Gin

We’ve already talked a lot of American, French, and Australian gin distilleries; but what of their counterparts in Italy?

Malfy (distributed by Pernod Ricard) is pretty much the essence of the country’s southwest bottled as a gin; and if you think I’m exaggerating in that regard, I’d urge you to try the Italian distiller’s best-selling ‘Con Arancia’ before proceeding.

Like the previous inclusion from Cape Byron Distillery, this light and refreshing version of a dry gin wears one of its primary tasting notes on its sleeve. Infused with arancia rossa (‘blood oranges’) from Sicily, this Malfy release has a dusty pinkish hue that fills the mind with images of high summer.

Crafted using a stainless steel vacuum still, there are clean and tart citrus flavours here that work well for the usual assortment of seasonal refreshers: think Rickeys, spritzers and so forth.

Peddler’s Gin Co. Shanghai Gin

A superbly interesting new world gin (whose makers hope it will do for Chinese craft distilling what KI NO BI did for Japan) Peddler’s is often billed as the “world’s first Shanghai gin”: made just a stone’s throw from the cyberpunk-esque skyline of Pudong.

These days, there are a lot of (frankly terrible) spirited start-ups that are attempting to cash in on the potential of the Chinese consumer market, but fortunately, Peddler’s is not one of them.

Much like the folks at Archie Rose or the Kyoto Distillery, distillers here worked backwards from the classic dry gin recipe — honing in on those botanicals that have a strong connection to Chinese culture. These include Buddha’s Hand (a kind of yellow citrus fruit), lotus, and Sichuan peppercorn: the distinctive tingly, numbing spice that works well with nothing more than tonic water and a slice of orange.

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

Given the popularity of Scottish-made gins, we shouldn’t be surprised that brands like The Botanist have gone one step further to offer a gin that is produced by whisky makers.

Made by the good folk at the award-winning Bruichladdich distillery (better known for such delightfully smoky malts as ‘The Laddie Classic’) Botanist Gin is in keeping with the craft of Islay whisky.

According to Jim McEwan, the brand’s Head Distiller, the first distillation run is invariably “achingly slow”: sometimes taking the best part of 24 hours due to the usage of a traditional Iomond pot still.

Fortunately, all that effort is in service of a great drop. Botanist Gin is medium-bodied in a classic sort of way; but also possesses the necessary aromatic complexity to set itself apart from the glut of Diageo brands that are also produced in Scotland. A great thing to drink simply, chill it in the freezer for a few hours prior to use for an immensely satiny mouthfeel.

Roku Japanese Craft Gin

Another straight-up banger from the House of Suntory, there’s not a lot that I can add to the litany of good things professional cocktail slingers say about Roku Gin that hasn’t already been said.

The Japanophiles among you will probably guess why this stuff is called roku (‘six’): in homage to the half-dozen Japanese botanicals that include such things as yuzu, leafy sencha and so forth.

Arguably a tad more approachable than Nikka’s Coffey Gin, the ingredients used here nonetheless also go heavy on traditional Western botanicals like cinnamon and juniper. Delicious, fuss-free and well-priced at around $70.

Gordon’s London Dry Gin

Every (middle-aged) man and his nana’s favourite spirit, there’s still something indefinably satisfying about Gordon’s — even in an age where your local bottle shop now has an entire aisle dedicated to Australian gin brands.

Full of tertiary flavours of juniper, lemon and angelica root; this is a pleasant, if slight expression of gin that makes up for its lack of complexity with nostalgia and a very palatable price point. When all is said and done, if all you’re doing is batching your booze into a fun-sized portion of Negronis, do you even need to utilise something as esoteric as ‘triple juniper gin’?

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