Maybe … maybe not …

As many of our readers will know, we have tried all types of gin ranging from the eye-wateringly expensive to supermarket bargains  – mainly so that our followers won’t have to or, as in the case of Lidl’s fabulous Finton’s, you’ll be assured you’re buying a great gin guaranteed not to embarrass you in front of your friends.

So, on a trip to an outlet of a supermarket chain we don’t often encounter, we purchased their bottle of Morrisons London Dry, which the grocer describes as ‘The Best London Dry Gin.’  At just £16, we think this 43^% ABV tipple is just about worthy of cupboard space, while some seem to really like it – others unequivocally don’t.  Here are a couple of polarised opinions we came across:

“I found this to be quite unpleasant, to the point where I needed to mix with something more strongly flavoured than tonic.”

“I’ve been drinking this for a long time, and it’s my go-to gin most of the time.  Beautiful flavour, really smooth and surprisingly similar to Tanqueray at a fraction of the price.  A real hidden gem in the gin aisle!”

Our opinion is that the four times distilled spirit is quite acceptable, the citrus and spicy tones pleasant enough – it has beaten Waitrose and M&S own gins in blind tastings, as well as the Big Guns, Beefeater and Gordon’s.  In fact Good Housekeeping rated it as the top for cocktails; while the cardamom makes it punchy enough to take a strong mixer such as clementine tonic, which is how we sampled this mostly.

But to be honest, I really couldn’t make my mind up about this gin – for me, who likes a spicy spirit, this was just a tad too fiery but in an unsubtle way; despite the eight botanicals and the fact that it is apparently made at one of the oldest gin distilleries in the country.  Would I buy it again?  Possibly, yes – but if offered the choice of Co-op’s Irresistible London Dry, or Lidl’s Finton’s, then probably not.