Gin Styles: London Dry vs Old Tom vs Genever vs Modern Gin

Gin looks like a single category from the supermarket shelf, but the legal definitions and the historical styles give a wider range than most drinkers realize. The label “gin” covers everything from a deeply juniper-driven London Dry that tastes like Christmas trees to a soft, floral New Western gin that tastes more like a flower shop. They are all legally gin, but they behave so differently in cocktails that swapping one for another can produce a drink the original recipe author would not recognize.

This article works through the five styles that matter most: London Dry, Plymouth, Old Tom, Genever, and Modern (or New Western). Each section covers what defines the style, how it differs from the others, and which cocktails it works best in.

London Dry

London Dry is the default. It is the style most cocktail books assume when a recipe says “gin,” and it is what most bartenders reach for when no other style is specified. The legal definition requires juniper to be the predominant flavor, no flavoring or coloring may be added after distillation, and the spirit must be distilled to at least 70 percent ABV before being cut to bottling strength. Crucially, no sweetener over 0.1 grams per liter is permitted.

The flavor profile is dominated by juniper, which gives London Dry its piney, slightly resinous character. Supporting botanicals typically include coriander seed, angelica root, lemon and orange peel, orris root, and cassia or cinnamon. The exact botanical blend varies by brand, but the juniper-forward profile is what defines the category.

Standard reference bottles include Tanqueray (juniper-heavy, classic), Beefeater (slightly softer juniper with more citrus), Sipsmith (modern London Dry with a clean, balanced botanical structure), and Bombay Sapphire (lighter juniper, more citrus and floral, sometimes considered borderline London Dry by purists).

London Dry works in nearly every gin cocktail. It is the right choice for a Negroni, a Martini, a Gin and Tonic, a Gimlet, a Last Word, and almost any 20th-century gin recipe. If a cocktail book says “gin” without further specification, London Dry is what to pour.

Plymouth

Plymouth Gin used to have a legal Protected Geographical Indication that required production in Plymouth, England. That protection lapsed in 2015 after the brand chose not to renew it, and Plymouth-style gin is now a flavor descriptor rather than a legal category. There is also only one distillery in Plymouth itself, so the only Plymouth Gin currently sold is the brand of the same name.

The Plymouth style differs from London Dry in two ways. The juniper presence is slightly lower, and the botanicals are weighted toward earthy notes (angelica root, orris root) rather than the sharper citrus and spice botanicals common in London Dry. The result is a slightly softer, rounder gin that some drinkers prefer in cocktails where they want the gin to be a base note rather than a forward flavor.

Plymouth is the recommended gin in some classic cocktail recipes (the Dirty Martini, the Pink Gin) where its slightly softer profile works better than a sharp London Dry. For most other cocktails it substitutes for London Dry without major changes.

Old Tom

Old Tom is the historical predecessor of London Dry and was the dominant gin style in 18th and 19th-century England. The defining feature is a small amount of added sweetness, traditionally from sugar but in modern versions sometimes from residual botanicals or short barrel aging. Old Tom sits flavor-wise between London Dry and Genever, with a similar juniper foundation but a softer, sweeter character.

Old Tom largely disappeared during the 20th century as London Dry took over the market. It came back into commercial production around 2007 (Hayman’s was one of the first to revive the style) and has since become a small but stable category. Brands like Hayman’s Old Tom, Ransom Old Tom, and Sipsmith VJOP-adjacent Old Toms are widely available now.

The reason to care about Old Tom is the classic cocktail canon. Recipes from the 1862 Jerry Thomas bartender guide and other pre-Prohibition books were often written for Old Tom rather than London Dry, and using a modern London Dry in those recipes produces a drier, more bitter result than the original author intended. A Tom Collins, a Martinez, or a Ramos Gin Fizz built with Old Tom tastes closer to the original than the same drink built with Tanqueray.

For modern cocktails, Old Tom is rarely the correct choice. It is a specialist bottle for the home bartender who works through classic recipes.

Genever

Genever is the Dutch ancestor of gin and is its own protected category under European Union law. It must be produced in the Netherlands, Belgium, or specified regions of France and Germany, and it must be distilled from a malted grain mash (typically a mix of malted barley, wheat, and rye) with juniper and other botanicals.

The malt base is what makes Genever different from gin. The distillate retains a noticeable malt character that gin does not, and the result is closer to a flavored whiskey than to a modern gin. There are two main subcategories. Oude (old) genever has a higher proportion of malt wine and tastes richly grain-forward, with maltiness dominating the juniper. Jonge (young) genever has less malt wine and tastes more like a modern gin with a soft malt backbone.

Genever does not substitute for gin in modern cocktails. A Martini made with Oude Genever tastes nothing like a Martini made with London Dry. A Negroni made with Genever is a different drink entirely. Where Genever does work is in pre-Prohibition American cocktail recipes that specifically called for “Holland gin” (Bols and Boomsma are widely available imports), and in stirred whiskey-style cocktails where the malt character is welcome.

Bols Genever and Boomsma Oude Genever are the two most accessible bottles in the United States. Both run $30 to $45.

Modern / New Western gin

The newest of the categories, and the loosest defined. New Western or contemporary gin emerged in the 1990s and 2000s as American and international distillers began making gins that downplayed juniper and emphasized other botanicals. There is no legal definition. The category is identified by what the gin does, not by what the bottle says.

Hendrick’s (Scotland, 1999) is the most famous example. Its cucumber and rose botanical blend pushed the gin in a floral, soft direction and away from the juniper-dominant tradition. Plymouth’s success at retaining its identity gave the new category some legitimacy, and by the 2010s every supermarket in the English-speaking world had a wall of New Western options. Aviation American Gin (lavender, cardamom, orange peel), Monkey 47 (Black Forest botanicals, 47 different ingredients), and most American craft gins fall into the modern category.

The flavor character varies enormously across brands, which is the main warning for cocktail use. A New Western gin built around cucumber and rose (Hendrick’s) makes a soft Gin and Tonic but a confusing Negroni. A New Western gin built around citrus and herbs (Aviation) makes a competent Martini but a lighter Negroni. Always taste a New Western gin neat before assuming it substitutes for London Dry in a classic recipe.

Choosing a gin for your bar

For a single bottle that handles 90 percent of cocktails, a quality London Dry is the answer. Tanqueray, Beefeater, or Sipsmith all do the job, and any of the three will produce honest versions of every major gin cocktail.

For a small home bar with two gins, add a New Western gin that you actually enjoy on its own (Hendrick’s for the floral, Monkey 47 for the herbaceous, Aviation for the citrus-forward) to give a second option for soft drinks like a Gin and Tonic or a Garibaldi.

For a serious classic-cocktail bar, add a bottle of Old Tom (Hayman’s is the safest pick) and a bottle of Oude Genever (Bols is the safest pick). Those two bottles unlock the pre-Prohibition cocktail canon and let you build accurate versions of classics that a London Dry cannot reach.

Avoid building a bar around novelty gins (the bright pink ones, the glittery ones, the ones with unusual color from added botanicals). They are mostly cosmetic and rarely produce better cocktails than a quality standard bottle in the same price range.

Frequently asked questions