Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Distilled Gin | 41.3% vol | 70cl | Made with Rangpur Limes & Gin Botanicals | Citrus Flavours with a Twist of Herbs | Enjoy in a Gin Glass with Ice & Tonic

Product Information

The folks at Tanqueray don’t make their own base spirit, and instead use a wheat-based neutral spirit made by the same distillery (and reportedly from the same source spirit) as Smirnoff vodka. Once that spirit arrives at their facility, they directly add to the liquid the same four botanical components that have been used since the 1830’s: juniper, angelica root, liquorice and coriander seeds. At some point over the years, the company was acquired by the British sprits giant Diageo, who maintains ownership of the brand to this day. Product Gin isn't just from England and the U.S. Distilleries all over the world produce versions that try to capture the character of where they're made. There are three main categories. Distilled gin is produced from a mash of grains in the same way that whiskey might be. Redistilled gin is a neutral grain spirit that has been distilled a second time. And compound gin is a neutral grain spirit that’s been infused with flavors (this is the least common style). While you can use nearly any botanical you can think of to flavor gin, juniper is the key ingredient. There are two ways to infuse the botanical flavors into gin—either by macerating them in the spirit, or suspending them in what is essentially a large tea bag above the spirit and infusing the gin with vapors. Then there are a few different styles of gin to consider.

Charles Tanqueray was born in 1810 to a third generation member of the clergy in Bedfordshire, England. But at the age of twenty, he decided that the church wasn’t really his scene and started experimenting with spirits production instead, making the first run of what would become his famous gin in 1830. He and his brother Edward learned about the spirits business at the Curries Distillery and, less than a decade after striking out, they had established a retail outlet named Edward & Charles Tanqueray & Co on Vine Street in London.

Cocktails

The gin tradition of Charles Tanqueray began on Vine Street in Bloomsbury in 1830. A pastor’s son who broke with tradition, his creation would certainly be a first ballot Gin-Hall-Of-Fame entrant (if ever there was such a thing). Continuously distilled since its invention, the brand has been owned by several big companies, and while it has been passed around it never lost any of its luster. To many people, Tanqueray London Dry Gin is London Dry Gin; its signature green glass is gin. Edward did not live long enough to see the business take off, but Charles continued alone and eventually hit on a winning flavor combination for their gin by using just four ingredients: juniper, angelica root, liquorice and coriander seeds. Charles subsequently died in 1865 leaving the business to his son, who decided to merge with Alexander Gordon & Co (another gin producer) to better compete with the wave of gin distilleries popping up all over London. The two companies split their focus: Gordon’s Gin aimed at domestic tastes in London, and Tanqueray focused on the export market (specifically, the United States). Usually, when we add a bit of ice the flavors take a nosedive. That’s especially true in spirits like a gin, where the flavors are infused during distillation and tend to be a little bit more delicate than usual. In this case, fortunately for us, I think they have all mostly survived — with one notable change.

With such long lasting success (and it’s still among the top 6 selling gins worldwide) comes some of the perils of being seen as “default.” In recent years, Tanqueray has marketed their flagship gin as something of a hyrbid of “prestige brand” (bringing it in competition with Tanqueray’s high end Tanqueray No. 10 Gin) and a “party with your friends gin.” The zestiness of the exotic Rangpur Lime shines through in this simple, but elegant serve with a touch of warmth from the ginger and aromatic bay leaf. What you need: Nose: Juniper is the predominant character on the nose. I find that the juniper note in Tanqueray London Dry is perhaps the most signature characteristic of it, no other gin quite has that singular juniper note. There’s an intriguing intimation of citrus zest (intriguing because citrus is not a botanical) along with candied angelica stalk and licorice. Gin is now definitely a global spirit, with excellent examples being made everywhere from the U.S. to Mexico to Southeast Asia, and even the UK has seen an infusion of new gin distilleries. The best thing about this is that each spirit is an attempt to capture some essence of its geography, often using locally sourced botanicals to flavor what otherwise would essentially be, well, vodka. With so many bottles to choose from, we’ve broken down some of the best gins out there to try now by highlighting stellar examples of the new and old school. Here are some of the best gin brands available now, from traditional London dry to brand-new innovations.Despite being on the market for over fifteen years, Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Gin endures because the popularity of citrus-forward gins has remained high. Overall, while it loses marks for balance, it’s a solid mixing gin for fans of citrus-forward gin. That being said, I was less of a fan of it in heavy spirit forward drinks such as the Martini. There’s a certain harshness and heat that doesn’t work as well here as it does in longer drinks. Overall Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Gin features the four signature botanicals of their Tanqueray London Dry Gin as a base. They then add three new ones: bay leaves, ginger and the aforementioned Rangpur Lime. Tasting Notes Finish: Only slightly dry with sour citrus remaining dominant, although above a spice-led accord that feels distinctively Tanqueray like.