Gordon’s Ultra Low Gin and Tonic

ABV: less than 0.5%
Calories per bottle: 68 (27 per 100ml)

The UK’s gin market is showing no signs of slowing down. Britons bought almost £1.4 billion worth of the stuff during 2017, equivalent to around 51 million bottles.

It seems we can’t get enough of that juniper. Fortunately, for those who love gin but don’t love hangovers, there are now a number of low-alcohol gin-based drinks to choose from. This latest offering from Gordon’s is one of the best.

According to the company, it was developed in their innovation laboratory in Hertfordshire and contains all the botanicals found in Gordon’s London Dry Gin, as well as a small amount of the gin distillate, some quinine, and a hint of fruit – either lime or grapefruit. That all sounds very interesting, but does it taste any good?

It certainly does. As soon as it’s opened, it smells like a good gin. It’s got the kind of body drinks normally get from alcohol, and doesn’t feel thin at all. You could easily mistake this for a standard strength gin-and-tonic. The version with lime is smooth, like a traditional GnT; the grapefruit is sourer, like a pink gin cocktail. Tesco’s premixed GnT is good. But this one is better.