Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: Gins Worth Loving

Jul 10, 2023

Citadelle Jardin d'Été is a gin created and born of love, making it perfect to celebrate Valentine's ... [+] Day.

Gin is perhaps the most romantic of all spirits. Perfumed with botanicals both floral or fruity, foraged or cultivated, dry or nearly sweet, this spirit offers plenty of romantic possibilities.

Here's a roundup of some delicious gins to sip, shake and stir this Valentine's Day.

Citadelle Jardin d’Été gin, $25

Released in 2021, Alexandre Gabriel was inspired by a French garden cultivated by his wife, Debbie, to create this delicate gin. Jardin d’été is made with melon flesh, whole lemon, yuzu zest and more orange peel, in addition to the 19 botanicals used to make Citadelle Original. "This garden is bursting with flowers, vegetables, and fruits, and the smell is so intoxicating," says Gabriel, who created the gin as a love letter to his wife. Its subtle perfume adds a romantic note to any cocktails you plan to shake up your evening.

With its specially patented distillation technology, Oxley London Dry Gin boasts an array of aromas ... [+] that is enticing - and perfect to toast your loved one.

Oxley Gin, $40

This one-of-a-kind London dry gin company invented its own, patented cold distillation process (which took eight years and 38 different recipes to perfect) to distill flavors that you can't get when you distill using heat. This technology allows Oxley to use freshly frozen citrus peels, instead of dried zest, resulting in a smooth sipping experience. Each bottle is individually numbered so that you can create an intimate, experience this Valentine's Day.

NOLET'S Silver gin makes a beautiful addition to your Valentine's Day bar car.

NOLET’S Silver Gin, $49

With peach, raspberry and rose among the unusual botanicals, NOLET’S Silver gin boasts an unusually floral yet fruity profile. With its singular flavor, you can create a singularly delicious cocktail or two to toast your special someone this Valentine's Day. It makes for an exceptional negroni.

6 O'Clock Damson Gin will help you craft some striking Valentine's Day cocktails with its dramatic ... [+] hue.

6 O’Clock Damson Gin, $34.99

Fantastically fruity, this 6 O’Clock gin is something special. Damson plums are picked, then left to steep in Damson's London Dry gin for six months or so. Slowly matured, this ruby red gin offers a smooth and velvety taste, and it will create striking cocktails for your Valentine's Day celebration. If fruit is not to your liking, 6 O’Clock London Dry is equally superb.

Feather & Folly is an unusual gin, distilled from sustainably farmed vinifera grapes.

Feather & Folly Copper Pot Distilled gin, $35

A grape-based spirit, Feather & Folly Copper Pot Distilled gin is made in the in the Columbia Valley of Washington State by the Monson Family, the team behind Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards and Winery. This handcrafted gin is distilled from sustainably farmed Goose Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown within the Goose Gap AVA and infused with unusual botanicals, including locally sourced juniper berries, as well as Angelica, black lime, coriander, orange zest and licorice root. "Using a grape-based spirit with fruit from our estate vineyards enables us to tap into the unique aspects of the Goose Gap appellation," says Brian Morton, master distiller. "Feather & Folly highlights this terroir, and the end result is a uniquely expressive gin featuring a fruit-forward style." Check out some delicious Valentine's Day cocktail recipes like the Folly Folly Blueberry French 75 or the Vido & Folly Vesper here.

If you're a favorite of London Dry style gins, Sipsmith makes a lovely version.

Sipsmith London Dry Gin, $33

Sipsmith presents a quintessential expression of a London Dry style of gin, with its exquisite craftsmanship. It's a versatile gin, with a smoothness that works well in a martini yet it's equally good in a Collins, G & T or negroni.

Smooth and lovely, Pomp & Whimsy will captivate your imagination with its marriage of dry gin with ... [+] citrus, fruits and floral botanicals.

Pomp & Whimsy Dry Gin, $37.99

If your loved one is a feminist, then this might be the gin you want to sip this Valentine's Day. Pomp & Whimsy is founded and owned by Dr. Nicola Nice, who is on a mission to give women back their rightful place in the history of gin and the cocktail. This dry gin marries traditional botanicals with citrus, fruits, and florals to create an elegant and delicately balanced, dry taste.

Uncle Val's Restorative gin will add a festive note to your Valentine's Day cocktails

Uncle Val's Gin Restorative, $39

Uncle Val's Gin was inspired by 3 Badge Beverage Corp.'s president August Sebastiani's real great Uncle Val, Zio Valerio Cecchetti. The real Uncle Val was known for his botanical concoctions that he grew in his garden in Italy. Though all of his gins will add a festive note to your Valentine's Day celebrations, Uncle Val's Restorative offers a soft yet crisp floral taste, with a blend of juniper, coriander, rose petals and cucumbers. It's pleasing bouquet will add a pop of flavor to any cocktails you mix.

If your loved one likes gin - and whiskey - then New Riff's Bourbon Barreled gin will be the perfect ... [+] Valentine's Day surprise.

New Riff Wild Gin Bourbon Barreled ($32.99)

Each bottle of this gin starts out with local, wild-foraged Kentucky botanicals, which capture the native flavors of the Ohio Valley and reflects historical Kentucky gin ingredients. Twelve botanicals are distilled right in the pot, including a range of typical European gin ingredients like angelica, orris, licorice root, and three kinds of citrus. To that, New Riff adds two local, farmer-foraged wild seasonings, including a wild juniper berry and the amazing American spicebush, plus a bit of Kentucky's state flower, goldenrod. The base spirit includes a dash of new make rye whiskey spirit, enriching the texture and lengthening the flavor, and then it's aged in bourbon barrels for five to seven months, giving it enough oomph to impress your date this Valentine's Day.

The botanicals in The Botanist are sustainably foraged to create this fragrant gin.

The Botanist, $39.99

This Islay dry gin is distilled with 22 botanicals that are sustainably foraged each year from March to October from the hills, bogs and shores of Islay. It takes each seven months for professional forager James Donaldson to pick and dry each botanical, but the resulting gin is herbaceous and floral. The work that goes into this gin is remarkable, and it's sure to impress your date this Valentine's Day.

Bombay Bramble's fruity base will help you create some romantic cocktails this Valentine's Day.

Bombay Sapphire Bramble Gin, $22.99

Bombay Sapphire's Bramble gin will add a beautiful jewel-toned color to your Valentine's Day bar cart. This gin owes its rich berry flavor to fresh blackberries and raspberries that are harvested before being added to the distillation. While fruity, there's no added sugar, making it perfect to shake or stir into a romantic cocktail.

Rehorst gin will keep your loved one warm, even if there's still snow on the ground this Valentine's ... [+] Day.

Great Lakes Distillery Rehorst Gin, $30

This craft distillery gin boasts nine different botanicals, including two unusual ones: sweet basil and Wisconsin ginseng. The two add a delicious depth to this entirely quaffable gin, and if you just add some tonic and lime, you’ve got an easy cocktail to celebrate your love.

The rose essence in Hendrick's gin will help you create some truly romantic cocktails this ... [+] Valentine's Day.

Hendrick's Gin, $34.99

As Hendrick's is infused with rose essence, this gin is perfect for Valentine's Day. With 11 botanicals (and the essence of cucumber), Hendrick's lends a floral nose to any cocktails you’ll sip this holiday.

The dramatic color changing nature of Empress 1908 gin will add a theatrical touch to your ... [+] Valentine's Day cocktails.

Empress 1908 Gin, $39.99

Handcrafted in small batch copper-pot stills, Empress 1908 Gin is made by Victoria Distillers and inspired by the legendary Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. On top of traditional botanicals, they add a signature blend of black tea served at the Empress Hotel and butterfly pea blossom, an exotic herb that balances the traditional citrus notes of gin with a warm herbal earthiness, and gives the gin its natural indigo color. That deep shade of blue will change to monarch purple and then rose petal pink with the addition or tonic or citrus, turning your Valentine's Day cocktail making into a show that will impress (or, Empress, as they say). For some cocktails to try, check here.

This unusual gin features botanicals foraged along the Pacific Coast on both sides of the border ... [+] between California and Mexico.

Gin de Las Californias Cítrico, $32.99

Inspired by the region connecting the United States and Mexico along the Pacifico Coast, this citrusy gin features botanicals that are foraged on both sides of the border. Bright and juicy, this gin will inspire harmony this Valentine's Day.

Velvety and aromatic, this gin will inspire romance this Valentine's Day.

Clonakilty Distillery Minke Irish Gin, $29.99

For nine generations, the family-owned Clonakilty Distillery has farmed their coastal lands. Using whey alcohol from cow's milked on the distillery's farm and various botanicals that grow wild along the shoreline adjacent to their distillery, Minke Irish Gin is inspired by the majestic minke whales. It's a velvety spirit to celebrate Valentine's Day.