Top 10 Gins from the Nautilus Smugglers' Club 2020-2022
So from June 2020 to August 2022 the Nautilus Smugglers’ Club delivered the finest gins around the gins round. It was a labour of love. As well as giving me the opportunity to meet a lot of people and talk about gin, it also kept me relentlessly trying amazing gin. Anyway, here are my favourite gins from the ones we sent out of those two years.
1. Defiance Old Tom (May 2021)
I’ve featured two Old Toms in the club, but this is probably my favourite. Sweet and smoky on account of the pine sap syrup used in the process. Oldham’s Defiance are probably my favourite distillery simply by virtue of them having three of the finest gins I’ve tried. Purchase here
2. Lind and Lime (January 2021)
I like a flavoured gin, but it’s unusual for me to like one this much. Based in Leith and released while the new distillery waits for its whiskey to age, this is lime and pink peppercorns but the magic is in the balance of lime and juniper. Purchase here
3. Tarsier Dry (January 2022)
I’m pretty fickle with my gins, gravitating towards the recent ones I’ve tried, but Manchester’s South-East Asian inspired gin has stayed near the top of my list ever since I first tried it. Purchase Here
4. Knut Hansen (November 2020)
My favourite bottle so far (the fact that it is adorned by an illustration of the titular moustachio’d sailor is a pure coincidence), Hamburg’s Knut Hanson won me over with the subtle caramel notes that stop just short of pushing it into Old Tom category. Purchase Here
5. Audemus Pink Pepper (August 2022)
Pink Pepper is such a perfect botanical for gin, it was only a matter of time before someone gave it a starring role. Purchase Here
6. Secret Garden Christmas Gin (December 2021)
I don’t usually get excited about Christmas botanicals as I often find the spices overpowering. I don’t know what magic the folk at the Secret Garden Distillery have been dabbling in, but their Christmas gin bewitched me with its cinnamon, cardamom and ginger notes. Purchase Here
7. Daffy’s (March 2021)
Sometimes simplicity is best. The talented people behind Daffy’s have eschewed novelty botanicals and super complexity and gone instead for balance and focus in their pursuit of the ultimate gin for a martini. I love a martini and I have bought into the hype, but it was trying it neat that won me over Purchase Here
8. Campfire Dry (April 2022)
Super complex and although it’s not my ultimate gin for picking out individual botanicals (that is still Black Powder’s Navy Strength), it’s a triumph of complexity without being too busy. Purchase Here
9. Thunderflower (November 2021)
Another gin that triumphs with simplicity. No jump out unusual botanicals, just the classic London dry ingredients in a gin that has clearly been perfected over countless iterations. Purchase Here
10. Greenwich Marine (June 2022)
There’s a lot of the gins we’ve tried that could have made this list - the impressively smooth Chew Valley (June 2022), the vanilla surprise of Colonsay Cait Sith (September 2021), the rich citrus oily charms of Lytham (October 2021), or perhaps the unusual and much loved Hussingtree Tonka Bean gin (June 2021). However, just sneaking into the list are the exquisite coastal botanicals of Greenwich. Purchase Here
