Beefeater 24 Gin - 70cl - 45% ABV

Beefeater’s birth can be traced back to 1863, when James Burrough bought a Chelsea distillery for the then grand sum of £400 and started to produce his own distinctive style of gin. At first, the distillery continued with the production of liqueurs as started by its previous owners, further establishing its reputation and extending its customer base. The 1876 company stock lists show an increasing portfolio of gins with brand names such as Ye Old Chelsea and James Burrough London Dry, as well as Old Tom styles and a few others. By spending time experimenting, inventing and using new processes he discovered that blending a particular recipe of botanicals produced a bold, full-flavoured gin, which he named Beefeater Gin.

Beefeater 24 -

Beefeater 24 is slightly lighter in flavour than the original (less juniper on the palate that has been replaced with other notes) with the tea bringing with it a certain astringency / tannic qualities to the finish. It has more herbal and citrus notes than the classic, but the tea and added citrus still play off a familiar London Dry background with a touch of liquorice clearly present (all-be-it very subtle). Interestingly, although it is bottled at 45% ABV, it still feels less punchy than Beefeater London Dry (which is at 40% ABV). Costing almost £10 more than the original, Beefeater 24 is positioned as a step up in quality, a fact the bottle itself reinforces with its pressed glass design on all four sides (heavily influenced from the arts and crafts movement of the early 20th century).

Read Gin Foundry's full review here: Beefeater 24