As the staple of any great drinks trolley, gin has amassed a loyal following, but how do you know that you’re choosing the best for you and your friends? Cue No.3 London Dry Gin – recently voted the World’s Best Gin for a fourth time, and the first gin to win the prestigious Supreme Champion Spirit award following a blind taste test at the International Spirits Challenge.
If the recent awards weren’t enough, No.3 is releasing a distinctive new bottle design to further enhance its credentials as the beacon of quality in the increasingly cluttered and confusing world of gin.
Before the new bottle goes on sale in October, No.3’s refreshed look will be exclusively available during September at Ace Hotel, Artesian, Dukes (pictured above), The Goring Hotel, Hotel Café Royal, Mint Gun Club, The Ned, Quo Vadis, The Ritz, Rules and The Savoy. No.3 will also be sponsoring the London Design Festival to support the new bottle.
The name and iconic key remain front and centre, proudly reflective of the gin’s creator, Berry Bros. & Rudd, which has been based at No.3 St James’s Street for over 320 years. The key is the personal promise from No.3 that the gin is of exquisite quality and represents the key to the parlour at 3 St James’s Street, which is where the gin was conceived by Simon Berry in 2010.
There are three spices and three fruits in No.3’s botanical mix
No.3’s name also references the fact that there are three spices and three fruits in No.3’s botanical mix. Cardamom pods lend a spicy, aromatic bite, coriander seed adds a lemon accent and a slightly peppery finish while angelica root grounds it all with a dry, earthy quality. Orange peel, meanwhile, gives a clean, crisp freshness while grapefruit peel ends things with a zingy lift. And at the heart of it all, of course, is the unmistakeable flavour of juniper.
The refreshing balance of juniper, citrus and spice makes No.3 the basis for classic gin cocktails, echoing and amplifying the flavour in other ingredients. Try it in a martini with a lemon twist, a Negroni with a slice of orange zest or a gin and tonic garnished with a slice of pink grapefruit. Or visit No.3’s website for bespoke creations such as the silky Cloud 3 – a simple and refreshing blend of elderflower, apple, egg white and sparkling wine – or the Magic Number, which picks up on the citrus and spice in No.3 with grapefruit, passionfruit and cardamom.
No.3 was was conceived by Simon Berry at 3 St James’s Street in 2010
As London’s oldest wine and spirit merchant, Berry Bros & Rudd has three centuries of experience to draw upon to craft the perfect gin. It opened its doors on St James’s Street in 1698, 10 years after William of Orange was crowned King of England, bringing with him an interest in all things Dutch, including gin.
No.3 Gin is distilled to Berry Bros. & Rudd’s exacting standards by De Kuyper, one of Holland’s oldest family-run distilleries. It is the only London Dry Gin being made by De Kuyper, which was founded three years before Berry Bros. & Rudd, in 1695. The botanicals are added to an ultra-premium spirit produced in the Netherlands exclusively from French winter wheat, which has 80% fewer impurities than normal neutral spirit.
Gin represented through No.3’s Art of Perfection project
No.3 has teamed up with a scientific photographer to create The Art of Perfection, a series of drinks photographs with a difference. No.3 has taken its key serves, frozen them and magnified them 40x under a microscope before photographing. The result is a unique series of striking imagery using a process that explores the gin in microscopic detail and transforms the crystal-clear liquid into a dramatic landscape of colour. It is these finer details that separate the exceptional from the acceptable and make No.3 a liquid masterpiece.
The new bottle will be available from Berry Bros. & Rudd during September and from October at Harvey Nichols, Master of Malt, Selfridges, Waitrose and The Whisky Exchange, RRP £35.
Tasting notes
Nose: Bright, crisp and fresh, with an uplifting welcome of juniper
Palate: Juniper at the fore, supported by floral, summery notes and spicy, warm flavours of cardamom. Plenty of citrus ‘zing’ complemented by the gingery spiciness of coriander
Finish: Earthy dryness of angelica
Awards
No. 3 Gin has garnered 24 awards for excellence since 2010. It’s the only gin to have won the International Spirits Challenge ‘Best in Class’ Gin Trophy four times, as well as the prestigious Supreme Champion Spirit Award in 2019.
Recent award wins include: International Spirits Challenge Supreme Champion Spirit Award 2019, 5 Stars cocktail commendation for Dry Martini, Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2018 and Master, The Global Luxury Masters, The Spirits Business 2017.