What Is Tanqueray? The London Dry Gin Explained

Tanqueray is one of those bottles almost everybody recognises and very few people can actually describe. Green bottle, red seal, shaped like a cocktail shaker. Here is what is inside it, what it costs, and what to do with it.

The short answer

Tanqueray is a London Dry gin - a neutral grain spirit redistilled with botanicals, with nothing added afterwards except water. No sugar, no colouring, no flavouring at the end. That "nothing added afterwards" part is the whole legal definition of London Dry, and it is the reason the style tastes dry and sharp rather than sweet.

It has been made since 1830. The recipe is famously short: four botanicals, no more.

The four botanicals

Most modern gins run to a dozen botanicals or more. Tanqueray uses four, and that restraint is the point.

• Juniper - the pine-and-resin note that makes gin taste like gin. Tanqueray leads with it, hard.
• Coriander seed - citrusy and warm, nothing like the fresh leaf.
• Angelica root - earthy and slightly bitter; it is the glue that holds the other three together.
• Licorice root - a faint sweetness on the back of the tongue that stops the whole thing turning austere.

Four botanicals and four distillations. The result is a gin with a very clear spine, which is exactly why bartenders reach for it - it does not disappear under tonic, lime or vermouth.

London Dry, made in Scotland

This confuses people constantly. London Dry is a method, not a place. Any distillery anywhere can make a London Dry gin as long as it follows the rules. Tanqueray was born in London, but production moved to Cameronbridge in Scotland decades ago. The name on the label describes how it is made, not where.

Same story with Bombay Sapphire - $32.99, another London Dry that leans floral where Tanqueray leans piney. If the style itself is what you want to understand, we wrote it up properly in what London Dry gin actually means.

What it costs

Tanqueray London Dry Gin, 750ml - $33.99. That puts it right in the middle of the gin shelf: a few dollars over Bombay Sapphire, a couple under Hendrick's at $35.99, and well under the small-batch bottles. For a gin this widely poured, it is not a premium price - it is the benchmark other gins get priced against.

How to drink it

Gin and tonic. The default, and Tanqueray is built for it. Heavy ice, a good tonic, and lime rather than lemon - the juniper is sharp enough that lemon just piles sourness on sourness, while lime rounds it.

Martini. This is where the four-botanical recipe earns its keep. A gin with twelve botanicals gets muddled by vermouth. Tanqueray stays legible. Stir, do not shake, and keep the vermouth honest at about five to one.

Negroni. Equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and bitter red. The licorice in the gin quietly ties into the bitter, and it works better here than softer gins do.

What it is not is a sipping gin. Neat and room temperature it is all juniper and not much else. It wants a mixer, or at minimum a lot of cold.

Tanqueray or Hendrick's?

The most common question people bring to the gin shelf. The short version: Tanqueray is classic and juniper-forward, Hendrick's is cucumber-and-rose and much softer. If you want a gin that tastes like gin, Tanqueray. If gin has always struck you as too pine-heavy, Hendrick's is the one that changes minds. We compared them side by side in Hendrick's vs Tanqueray.

The rest of the gin shelf

If Tanqueray is your baseline, these are the interesting steps sideways:

• Gin Mare - $39.99. Olive, rosemary, thyme and basil. Savoury rather than piney, and superb in a dirty martini.
• Barr Hill Gin - $42.99. Raw honey goes in after distillation. Round, soft, unmistakable.
• Gray Whale Gin - $39.99. Californian, with juniper, fir and kelp. Coastal and clean. We wrote it up in the Gray Whale guide.
• Whitley Neill Quince Gin - $32.99. Fruit-forward and the easiest of the group to drink with just soda.
• Empress 1908 - $45.99. Indigo in the bottle, pink the moment you add citrus. A party trick that happens to be a good gin.

The whole range sits in our gin collection, and if you want to understand what all those botanicals are actually doing, start with the botanicals guide.

One note on Pesach

Tanqueray is a grain spirit, like nearly every London Dry gin, so it is a year-round bottle rather than a Pesach one. If you are shopping for the chag specifically, our kosher for Passover spirits guide covers what does work.

Still deciding between the two big clear spirits? Gin vs vodka settles it faster than another shelf comparison will.