Cameronbridge Distillery (Scotland)
Tanqueray London Dry Gin Review
London Dry Gin · Unaged
The London Dry benchmark: four botanicals, flawless balance, a proper 47.3%, and a bargain price. The one gin every bar needs.
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Rating Breakdown
Flavor Profile
Tasting Journey
Nose
Clean, punchy juniper, pine, coriander citrus, and a whisper of licorice — textbook London Dry
Palate
Crisp and assertive — juniper-forward, peppery coriander, citrus, and a dry, structured backbone at a full 47.3%
Finish
Length: MediumDry, clean, and bracing, with juniper and pepper lingering
Tanqueray London Dry Gin
Specs
Price / Value
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Our Score: 91/100
Pairings
Food
- Oysters
- smoked salmon
- cucumber
- citrus-dressed salads
- fish and chips
Cocktails
- Gin & Tonic
- Dry Martini
- Negroni
- Tom Collins — the gold standard for all of them
Our Verdict
Tanqueray is the London Dry benchmark every other gin is measured against — just four botanicals, flawlessly balanced, bottled at a proper 47.3%, and priced like a bargain. If you own one gin, own this. It builds the definitive Gin & Tonic and a razor-sharp Martini.
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Shop at Cask CartelHow We Score
Every spirit is tasted blind in a Glencairn glass across multiple sessions on different days. We score on a 100-point weighted scale, recording notes before the label is revealed to eliminate brand bias.
Rating Criteria
Aroma complexity, intensity, and appeal
Flavor depth, balance, and mouthfeel
Length, evolution, and lingering notes
Quality relative to price point
Layered character and uniqueness
Some spirits are famous. Tanqueray is foundational. Created in 1830 and now distilled at Cameronbridge in Scotland, this is the London Dry gin against which every other gin — classic or contemporary — is quietly measured. And it does it with just four botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica, and licorice. No cucumber, no rose, no marketing garnish. Just gin, done perfectly.
The nose is clean and punchy: bright piney juniper, coriander citrus, and a faint sweet licorice underneath. It smells like the platonic ideal of gin, because in many ways it is.
On the palate
Bottled at a full 47.3% ABV (in the US), Tanqueray has backbone that lower-proof gins lack. Juniper leads, peppery coriander follows, citrus brightens it, and the whole thing finishes dry, clean, and structured. That strength is exactly why it holds up against tonic and vermouth where softer gins wash out. It is assertive without being harsh — the mark of great balance.
The verdict
Tanqueray is arguably the best value in all of spirits: a world-class London Dry for around twenty dollars. It builds the definitive Gin & Tonic and a bracing Dry Martini, and it is the reference point for the classic-versus-contemporary debate we get into in our Hendrick's review. If you keep one gin on the shelf, keep this. It anchors our gin coverage for a reason.
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