Gin has undergone a revolution of sorts. Once associated with afternoon bowls games and happy hour G&T’s, gin is fast becoming one of the hippest beverages around.

Like raising a dram to whisky in May, World Gin Day – Sunday 14th June – is all about mixing up a tasty cocktail and showing some appreciation.

If you’re stumped at what to try, there are plenty of new brands at the forefront of the gin realm – all waiting for you at your nearest Liquorland store. 

Opihr Gin

This brand has recently made the journey to New Zealand and is set to make waves in the gin world. Inspired by the mysteries of the spice route, Opihr Oriental Spiced Gin started their gin adventure on the Isle of Malacca, off Malaysia. Here, they gathered some cubeb peppers and then continued on to India.

Their other ports of call included Turkey, Venice, Morocco, Spain and then finally, England – the motherland of gin – where they brought together the sweet, zesty, fragrant spices of the trip and created their gin. 

Bombay Sapphire

An oldie but a goodie. The blue bottle has its place in every at-home liquor cabinet. With lemon peel, grains of paradise, coriander, almonds and liquorice, this gin is a complex gin with a balanced flavour. 

The Botanist

Islay whisky distillery Bruichladdich have branched out with their first gin, The Botanist Islay Dry Gin. Made from 31 botanicals, 22 of are native to the island of Islay, The Botanist is a dry gin with surprising floral notes. 

Boodles

Boodles Gin has gone against the grain by not including any citrus botanicals to their gin. Instead, it contains a number of traditional herbs and spices – nutmeg, sage and rosemary to name a few. The result is a subtle spirit, perfect for Martinis, Negronis or any other creative concoctions. 

Hayman's

As the oldest gin distilling family in England, the Haymans clan know their stuff. Their London Dry Gin is distilled to a secret family recipe with 10 botanicals. The botanicals are steeped in grain alcohol for a day proper to distillation, which allows the oils to infuse, creating a deeply flavoured gin. 

Hendrick's 

Hendrick’s are lovers of the weird and the wonderful. Their botanical signature consists of flowers, roots, fruits and seeds alongside infusions of rose petal and cucumber. These are combined with two different spirits from two rare and unusual stills – Bennet still and the Carter-Head still. Together, they create a supremely smooth gin. 

Rogue Society 

There’s no greater force than a Kiwi with an ambition. So when the Rogue Society Gin lads set their goals on changing the way people view gin, it was a given that they would succeed. Mark Neal, Daniel McLaughlin and Richard Bourke created the perfect combination of 12 exotic botanicals, lovingly handcrafted to create one fine gin. 

Try it out in their delicious Winter Thyme recipe.