Style & Law

Hearing the name London Dry Gin, you might think of a place. But it isn't one. Under EU Spirit Drinks Regulation 2019/787, any gin that follows certain rules may use this name. That applies just as much to a distillery in Kennington as to one a thousand kilometers away.

The rules are strict. All flavors must come from redistilling ethanol with the botanicals, not from adding finished flavoring afterward. After distillation, only water may be added to the gin. A maximum of 0.1 grams of sugar per liter is allowed, barely perceptible as sweetness. The minimum alcohol content for gin across the EU is 37.5% ABV. In the US, the rule 27 CFR 5 requires at least 40% ABV.

'London Gin' is the even stricter version of the same term. It additionally requires that the spirit be produced exclusively by distillation. The finished distillate must reach at least 70% ABV before being diluted to drinking strength. Both terms, then, say nothing about origin. They only say something about the process.

Historically, that wasn't always the intent. Old recipes from the era of the gin palaces often contained sugar, used to mask poor-quality raw spirit. The dry, clear style we associate with London today only took hold later, with better distilling technology in the late 19th century.

Beefeater from Kennington and Sipsmith from Chiswick both show this dry style, even though they distill differently. The legal term leaves them room in technique, as long as sugar and added flavorings are absent at the end.