Thetownend.com

Any gin drinkers on here looking at getting a lass a good bottle of gin for her 40th, my knowledge of good stuff does not really go beyond Bombay Sapphire - any suggestions?

Get Bombay Sapphire.

Go to the off license on wood street, they have a great selection and will let you try some to decide

Aldi and Lidl's own brands do very well in blind taste tests.

Possibly not 40th material, depending how much you like them

#ginSnob

Ta for the suggestions, BS is very nice but a bit mainstream and as with the Aldi suggestion (which is great) not really 40th material? Plus the off licence in Swindon is a great idea but about 235 miles away.

Buy a subscription to this?

http://www.craftginclub.co.uk/

The Bombay Sapphire distillery is less than an hour's drive from Swindon. Really good half day out for a tenner a ticket for guided tour and a cocktail thrown in.

My other half loves gin and normally drinks Bombay Sapphire - I got a bottle of this for her last Christmas, recommended by the lovely chaps in Independent Spirit in Bath - http://www.brokersgin.com/ Plus the bottle has a little bowler hat which is fun to dick around with. Last seen topping a butternut squash...

Getting a few decent tonics can be a nice side present - Fentimans and Fever Tree do good stuff.

I work in the Industry

Its Tanqueray 10 if you can afford it

My (relatively) local does a gin reward card type thing that the coffee shops do. Basically buy 5 and get the 6th free. There is 25 different ones to try and the Scottish ones are probably my favourite (names totally escape me). We generally buy Tanqueray given the choice.

Not that I'm a gin snob and this forum is probably the worst place to put this, but grapefruit works really well in gin!

(http://cdn.static-economist.com/sites/default/files/images/2014/10/blogs/prospero/20141025_bkp512.jpg)

I can imagine it would.  Like a hint of Orange, but think it works well with most citrus flavours.  The Royal Oak surprised me, given it's less than great past, with it's new Gin bar theme, pretty impressive list.

Botanist is apparently a good one

This is definitely the word on the street, from a gin soaked friend of mine

It has to be Hendricks.

Slice of lime not lemon.

(And original Tanqueray is better than Ten.)

I like gin, but I always just thought gin is gin regardless. Mind you I normally drink it toward the end of the night when a pint of special brew tastes just like any other beer.

Damn me and my uncouthness, I resolve to drink more gin to make amends.

Shit yes, Hendricks is gorgeous. My wife makes it with slices of cucumber, sounds odd but tastes legendary.

Sort of something I know. I hate gin, but my mum and her husband adore it. I started buying gins for her and have been through shit loads. She doesn't like a London style gin though and prefers something a bit more off the beaten track. Her top 3 (so far) would be:

1: Gin Mare
2: Monkey 47
3: Bathtub Gin

Gin, lemon or lime not both, slice of cucumber, small dash of elderflower cordial, tonic (Fevertree) and of course ice. You may need to play around with the ingredients to hit the sweet spot but a good quality gin with minimum 40% ABV is the best.

I'd recommend Boodles

Bath Gin do a nice bottle for a special gift, and fairly local too.

www.thebathgincompany.co.uk

I'll recommend Warner Edwards. I wasn't a gin fan until a couple of years ago, but this swayed me... it's so smooth you can sip it neat

Gin is gin. Lovely in a pint glass with lots of ice and tonic, doesn't matter what brand. I've got a bottle of Martini for tonight. I think i'm gonna need a bigger bottle though..

I spent a weekend in Edinburgh not so long ago and 'Edinburgh Gin' Is top notch topped off with a Fever Tree, not your standard Schweppes toss!

Brockmans
Cotswold Gin