Gin & Vodka

Gin and Vodka: Fourteen Bottles, Two Very Different Spirits

This page holds gin and vodka side by side: eight gins, four vodkas, a Gin-Tini Liqueur and a Gin Gift Set. The short version of how to choose between them is that gin arrives with its flavour built in at the still, while vodka is made towards neutral and then, in the case of all four here, flavoured afterwards. If you only want gin, our gins collection lists the gin range on its own. You must be 18 or over to buy alcohol in the UK.

Gin or Vodka: What Actually Separates Them

The two are closer than their reputations suggest, and the dividing line is a legal one.

• Gin is a distilled spirit flavoured with juniper berries and other botanicals. Juniper is not optional. It is the ingredient that makes a gin a gin, and without it the spirit cannot be sold as one.
• Vodka is a clear distilled spirit made towards neutrality. Character is stripped out rather than added in.

That decides how each behaves in a glass. A gin brings its own flavour and argues with whatever you mix it with. A neutral vodka carries other flavours without competing. A flavoured vodka, which is what all four here are, sits in between: the flavour goes in after the neutral spirit is made, so it reads cleaner and more singular than the layered botanical mix of a gin.

London Dry is a method, not a place

London Dry does not mean the gin was made in London. It is a legally defined production category: the flavour has to come from distilling with the botanicals rather than being added afterwards, with no sweetening or colouring after the fact beyond a very small allowance. Here that applies to Harry's Finest London Dry Gin, which makes it the benchmark to try first before moving to the more distinctive bottles.

The Eight Gins and Four Vodkas

Named as they appear on the bottle, because the name is the honest description. The gins:

• Harry's Finest London Dry Gin, the London Dry benchmark here.
• Apricot Small Batch Gin, an apricot gin made in small batches.
• Longwood Dark Spiced Gin, dark and spiced, plus Longwood Gin Rose and Longwood 17 Gin.
• Laurin's Gin, Gin Cheminee and Gin des deux Leopards.

Choosing between them is a question of how far from a classic dry style you want to travel. Start at the Harry's for the benchmark, and move to the Longwood Dark Spiced Gin or the Apricot Small Batch Gin when you want the gin itself to be the flavour in the drink rather than the backbone under it. There is also a Gin-Tini Liqueur, which is a liqueur rather than a gin.

Every vodka here is flavoured, so none is the neutral bottle you reach for to make a drink taste of something else. They are the flavour: Blood Orange Vodka, Sour Cherry Vodka, Cara Mia! Caramel Vodka and Black Forest Wild Vodka. A flavoured vodka does its best work where a neutral one would need help: over ice with soda, in a simple two-part cocktail, or poured cold after a meal. For neutral vodka or spirits beyond these two, the vodka and other spirits collection covers the wider range.

Refills, the Stamford Shop and Buying as a Gift

Spirits are part of the vomFASS refill model, which matters here in a way it does not for wine. vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994, a model that started in Germany and has served the United Kingdom for over 30 years. The name is German for "from the barrel". Bring your empty vomFASS spirit bottle into our Stamford shop in Lincolnshire and we will refill it from the cask, so a gin or vodka bottle you already own does not have to become one you throw away.

Buying for someone else? The Gin Gift Set answers the question by not making you pick a single bottle. You must be 18 or over to buy alcohol in the UK.

Frequently Asked Questions About Gin and Vodka

What is the difference between gin and vodka?

Gin is a distilled spirit flavoured with juniper berries and other botanicals, and juniper is what legally makes a gin a gin. Vodka is a clear distilled spirit made to be far closer to neutral in character. In practice gin arrives with flavour designed into it, while vodka is either kept clean and neutral or flavoured afterwards. Every vodka on this page is a flavoured one.

Which gins does vomFASS UK sell?

Eight: Harry's Finest London Dry Gin, Apricot Small Batch Gin, Longwood Dark Spiced Gin, Longwood Gin Rose, Longwood 17 Gin, Laurin's Gin, Gin Cheminee and Gin des deux Leopards. There is also a Gin-Tini Liqueur, which is a liqueur rather than a gin, and a Gin Gift Set.

Which vodkas does vomFASS UK sell?

Four, and all are flavoured rather than neutral: Blood Orange Vodka, Sour Cherry Vodka, Cara Mia! Caramel Vodka and Black Forest Wild Vodka.

Can I refill my vomFASS gin or vodka bottle?

Yes. Spirits are part of the vomFASS refill model. Bring your empty vomFASS spirit bottle into our Stamford shop in Lincolnshire and we will refill it from the cask. vomFASS pioneered the refill concept in 1994.

Do I have to be 18 to buy gin or vodka?

Yes. Under the Licensing Act 2003 it is against the law to sell alcohol to anyone under 18 in the UK.

Still deciding? The gin range on its own is the place to start if juniper is the point, and the flavoured vodkas are the place to start if it is not.