Our take
Tanqueray is the reliable workhorse of the London Dry gin world. Four botanicals – juniper, coriander, angelica, liquorice – no bush tucker detours, no stunts. What you get is clean pine-forward juniper, a slightly peppery coriander lift and the faintest sweetness on the back from liquorice.
The green bottle hides how surprisingly punchy this is at 47.3% – enough to stand up to a full-weight tonic without disappearing. It’s our default pour for a proper Dry Martini when we want the gin to show up with its shoulders back.
What to mix it with
Martinis (classic, wet or dry), French 75, Gin & Tonic, Negroni, Gimlet. Anywhere you want an unambiguous, juniper-forward gin that doesn’t argue with the vermouth.
Background
Founded by Charles Tanqueray in Bloomsbury, London in 1830. The recipe has been essentially unchanged since – which is a rare boast in a spirits industry that can’t stop launching flavoured extensions. Bottled at 47.3% ABV for export markets, a standard strength the brand has resisted watering down despite decades of margin pressure.