A style from one city
Plymouth Gin
Plymouth Gin is the only gin style ever truly tied to a single place. Until 2015, only one distillery in the English port city of Plymouth was allowed to use the name.
Where does the name Plymouth Gin come from?
The Black Friars Distillery in Plymouth has been distilling on the same site since 1793, in a former Dominican monastery by the harbor. For a long time, "Plymouth Gin" was a protected geographical indication, similar to Champagne or Parma ham. Only this one distillery was allowed to call its gin by that name. In 2015, the distillery let the protection lapse, since it brought little economic benefit and no one else was using the name anyway. Today, Plymouth Gin is formally a brand name, though historically it remains a style in its own right.
For centuries, the port of Plymouth was a starting point for Royal Navy ships. Fleets sailed from here to the Caribbean and North America, and the local gin found its way on board. This tied the name firmly to seafaring long before there was a distinct Navy Strength style.
It's notable that the distillery gave up its protected status voluntarily rather than defending it. For connoisseurs, the term nonetheless remains a fixed piece of terminology for a particular flavor profile, much as "Cognac" is sometimes used colloquially for brandy in general, even though that's no longer legally accurate. This double meaning occasionally causes confusion when bar menus use the term with varying degrees of rigor. Anyone reading "Plymouth Gin" on a menu should check carefully whether it actually means the brand from the Black Friars Distillery, or just a similarly soft gin style in general.
What sets Plymouth Gin apart in flavor?
Plymouth Gin tastes rounder and earthier than a typical London Dry Gin. The reason lies in the botanicals: alongside juniper and citrus, considerably more root botanicals are used, above all orris root and angelica. These roots lend a slightly earthy, almost creamy texture that softens the sharp juniper note. Citrus aromas recede somewhat as a result, without disappearing entirely.
The result is a gin that feels softer and less dry than its London counterpart, without being sweet. Some connoisseurs describe it as a bridging style between the very dry London Dry and the maltier, older styles like Genever or Old Tom.
This softer texture becomes especially clear when tasting Plymouth Gin neat or with just a little water. Where a sharp London Dry Gin can sometimes feel almost biting, Plymouth Gin remains approachable even undiluted. That makes it a good entry point for anyone who has only known gin with plenty of tonic water and wants to taste the pure spirit for the first time.
Plymouth Gin at the bar
Historically, Plymouth Gin is closely tied to the Pink Gin cocktail, in which Angostura bitters tint the gin a faint pink. British naval officers drank this mix to make the bitter tonics from the ship's medicine chest more palatable. Early Martini recipes also often called for Plymouth Gin, since its softer texture balances dry vermouth well.
To this day, Plymouth Gin remains a distinct reference point whenever bartenders discuss gin styles. It shows how a single production site can shape a wholly distinct flavor character over centuries, even after legal protection eventually lapses.
Anyone reading historic cocktail books will repeatedly come across recipes that explicitly call for Plymouth Gin rather than simply "gin." That shows how firmly the style was fixed in the minds of earlier bartenders. Today, it's worth the direct comparison: mixing the same cocktail once with London Dry Gin and once with Plymouth Gin makes the difference in texture and warmth very clear.