Desmond Payne

master distiller, Beefeater Gin

Pernod Ricard

Where's the gin police, when it pretends to be something else? Gin has the widest flavour range of all distilled spirits, but it has to be about juniper in there somewhere. The predominant flavour of gin, according to EU definitions, must be juniper. Predominance is a hard characteristic to identify. A gin that uses more juniper than any other single botanical fits the bill - even though some other flavours may be strong. At the end of the day it's all about balance.