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TOP 15 Celebrity Gins

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 19:47:16 GMT

MY TOP 15 CELEBRITY GINS

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE BOTTLES

Celebrity and gin have become increasingly comfortable bedfellows. Once you start looking, famous faces seem to be turning up on bottles everywhere — from soaps to sport, music, television, Hollywood and even royalty. Gordon Ramsay has a gin collaboration, Snoop Dogg has a gin and the list goes on.

There is an obvious advantage to putting a recognisable name on a bottle. People already know who you are, so getting their attention is considerably easier than starting a gin brand from scratch. The interesting ones, though, are those where the connection goes a little deeper — a favourite place, a family story, a genuine obsession with gin or simply somebody deciding that making a spirit sounded like a good idea.

Then there are the stories where things don't quite go to plan. Celebrity gin hasn't been entirely free of controversy, from bottles that attracted rather more attention than expected — including Ron de Jeremy's Hedgehog Gin, named after the adult-film star's nickname and built around a decidedly tongue-in-cheek “love herbs” concept — to the rather more uncomfortable story of Jeremy himself, who became embroiled in the sexual-assault allegations that emerged during the #MeToo era. Then there was the extraordinary saga of Captain Sir Tom Moore's gin and the charity fundraising scandal that followed. It turns out that putting a famous name on a bottle doesn't necessarily guarantee a straightforward story.

I've been wanting to do some research into this for a while, so I went looking to see who and what was actually behind some of the better-known (IMO) celebrity gins. As usual, one bottle led to another and the rabbit hole got rather deeper than planned. There are far more of them than I expected, and once you start digging into who actually makes them, where the ideas came from and what happened behind the label, celebrity gin turns out to be a considerably more interesting world than you might imagine.

This list only dips a toe into the world of celebrity gin, but here are some of my favourites that I thought were worth the research time.

Celebrity Gins: A Closing Summary

There are plenty more celebrity gins out there and I suspect this is one of those lists that will keep growing. Once you start looking beyond the famous face on the bottle, there are some surprisingly good stories hiding behind them — family connections, favourite places, business ventures, hobbies and, occasionally, a slightly eccentric idea that somehow turned into an actual gin.

Some celebrities have clearly got stuck in and helped shape what is in the bottle. Others have brought the name, the audience and the marketing muscle, while the distillers do the serious work behind the scenes. Neither approach automatically makes a good or bad gin. A famous name might get you to pick up the bottle, but it can't guarantee you'll want to pour another one.

That is really what makes celebrity gins interesting to me. They're another excuse to look beyond the liquid and ask the usual questions: who is behind it, why this gin, why this place and where did the idea come from?

Sometimes the answer is more interesting than the gin itself.

And sometimes you just end up with James May, a parsnip and a bottle of gin.

You can follow the rabbit holes further through the individual Gin Passport profiles, where I've gone digging into the people, places, bottles and stories behind each one.

Atlas Note: How the Celebrity Gins Stack Up

BBC Good Food recently put nine celebrity gins through a blind-ish tasting, and the results make for interesting reading. Cygnet 22 came out on top with a full 5/5, followed by Papa Salt and Renais on 4.5/5. James Gin Asian Parsnip, Aviation, The Gardener and Blackeye all scored 4/5, while Hammond's Ratio and Hawkstone Gin brought up the rear on 3.5/5.

Cygnet 22's result isn't exactly a fluke either. It has an impressive trophy cabinet, including a Master at the 2024 Luxury Spirits Masters, Golds at the Global Gin Masters and IWSC, and World Gin Awards recognition. Renais is another serious contender, with Golds at the Gin Masters in 2023, 2024 and 2026, alongside Great Taste recognition. James Gin has also built up a decent collection of medals across the range, rather than relying on the celebrity name alone.

There are some interesting stories further down the list. Blackeye took Double Gold and 95 points at the 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, while Papa Salt has its own rather impressive pedigree, including Best in Show at the 2022 LA Spirits Awards and Gold at SFWSC. Aviation has the famous 97-point Wine Enthusiast score from 2012 as well as a 2026 World Gin Awards Gold.

For some of the others, the awards are harder to find — which doesn't necessarily mean the gin is made by people who don't know what they're doing. Hammond's Ratio, for example, is made by Hawkridge Distillers, whose other gins include the IWSC London Dry Gin of the Year. The Gardener comes from Tom Nichol, former Tanqueray master distiller and recipient of the Gin Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. Hawkstone is made by The Wood Brothers, whose own Single Estate Vodka has won multiple Golds at The Vodka Masters.

That is one of the things I found most interesting while digging into the celebrity-gin rabbit hole. A medal on the celebrity's bottle is an easy fact to print in a list, but sometimes the more revealing question is who actually made the stuff. A celebrity name might get the bottle noticed, but the people behind the still still have to know what they're doing.

And perhaps that explains some of the BBC results. Celebrity recognition gets you through the door; good gin — and the people making it — have to do the rest.

My Top 10 Budget-Friendly Gin Brands

183:792272903 (Allison Strydom) — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 21:37:42 GMT

Ten Affordable Gins That You Should Try

Compiling a list of my top 10 gins is almost impossible, as what I feel like drinking will change daily depending on my mood.

I enjoy gins that are different, but they may not be for everyone, so if you are looking to get into drinking gin or want to try something new, then this is a list of classic gins, which are excellent value for money and won't disappoint. All of these brands have a good range, including some flavoured gins, so there should be something for everyone in this list!

Are there other brands on my shelf which are worthy of inclusion in a top 10 list? Yes of course and I may be a little biased as I've visited most of these distilleries listed and they all have something different to offer and make excellent spirits. However, they are all good starting points for those new to drinking gin and wanting to learn a little bit more about the history and how gin is made.

Click on the links or photos to be taken to the brand websites or my reviews on Instagram .

And before you disappear after reading this - why not explore more about the world of gin and have a nosey around my website!

Disclaimer: Some of these brands have moved on to new premises and distributors since this blog post was written, but they should be easy to find by going directly to their websites or via search engines. Prices change all the time, so do shop around!

1. Beefeater Gin

2. Bombay Sapphire Gin

3. East London Liquor Company Gin

4. Portobello Road Gin

5. Jim & Tonic Mercato Gin

6. City of London Distillery - Christopher Wren Gin

7. Warners Gin

8. Gin Mare

9. Masons Yorkshire Dry Gin

10. Haymans London Dry Gin

My Top 10 Gin Stories

183:792272903 (Allison Strydom) — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 16:32:53 GMT

Show me a bottle and I will tell you a story!

Some of my favourite gin stories started with a little lockdown research… and a lot of rabbit holes. What began as curiosity often led to fascinating discoveries hiding behind the label — gorgeous bottles, scandals, myths, legends, forgotten history and the stories of the people who made them.

These are some of the stories that made me stop, dig a little deeper, and realise there’s so much more to gin than what’s in the bottle.

Buckle up, pour a G&T, put your reading glasses on, and let’s go down a few gin-shaped rabbit holes.

And before you disappear after reading this - why not explore more about the world of gin and have a nosey around my website! There are plenty more stories to read and many more gins to discover!

1. 44°N Gin

Just 15km outside of Cannes, at an elevation of around 350m, you will find a verdant landscape, where Comte de Grasse have chosen to have their home.

Grasse – fat, indulgent, plump, succulent. The translation is a bit unkind, but perhaps fitting, as this region has an abundance of everything which makes it the perfume capital of France. The microclimate and fertile soil in Grasse have encouraged flower farming and the area produces over two-thirds of France’s natural aromas for the perfume and food industry. The Old Town is certainly worth exploring, with its quirky shops and cobbled streets, however it’s the old perfumery just outside the old town, with buildings dating back to the 17th century, that has become the new home of 44N Gin.

The buildings and tower are being lovingly restored to their former glory and refitted with modern technology, all designed with sustainability in mind but also with a homage to the heritage of Grasse and it’s extraordinary people, who have generations of knowledge in the perfume industry.

Combining traditional and innovative distilling methods, as well as cutting edge perfume extraction technology, which is not only sustainable and efficient, they have created a gin which has a provenance like no other. The best flavours are extracted from the expensive botanicals and the resulting gin is presented in an elegant Klein Blue bottle.

This is an incredible gin, which is woody, floral, jammy, herbaceous and spicy. It begs to be drunk as a dry martini to appreciate all the flavours and the Provencal heritage of this high-end gin.

To reflect the surrounding landscape of Grasse, I have served this up as a Grasse Sour (pictured above) – a Basil Smash with the addition of St Germain and a foamer.

One last little titbit – the area of Grasse is 44.44 square kilometres and the location of Comte de Grasse is 44N latitude! Co-incidence? Who knows!

Also Read The Gin Guide's Interview with the founder of 44N Gin - Bhagath Reddy

2. Melifera - The Spirit of Dreams and Legends

3. Bareksten

4. Larios Mediterranean Gin

5. Dolce Vita

6. EeNoo Scottish Gin

7. The Source Gin, Cardrona

8. Klimt Wien Gin

9. Canaima Gin

The National Park of the same name is an immense area - about the same size as Belgium - and mostly remote and inaccessible. The falls were obviously known to local people, but Auyan means devil and tepui means house in the language of the Pemon, hence the tepui from which the falls cascade, and area around it, were known as The House of the Devil and it was avoided. Visitors to the famous Angel Falls still have to make the trip by air and river.

There are many stories about who was the first European to have viewed the falls - but it is named after Jimmie Angel, who flew over them in 1933 while searching for deposits of gold ore. He returned there in 1937 and tried to land atop a tepui but the ground was marshy and the plane was damaged, so he and his party had to make their way back to civilisation by foot - a journey which took 11 days. In his honour, the falls were named after him and his ashes were also spread over them.

Jimmie's plane was lifted off the tepui in 1970, restored and is now on display at the airport at Cuidad Bolivar. The plane was however declared a national monument in 1964 and the federal government wants it moved back to the Aviation Museum in Maracay but the State of Bolivar apparently refuses to relinquish it!

10. QVT Gin

Quatre-Vingt-Trois (area code 83 - Provence)