Whether you need a gin you can sip all night or a strong gin for one hefty cocktail, ABV is worth understanding. In this quick article, we’ll help you make the right choice.
Initially, every gin starts out very strong at about 80-85% alcohol. But don’t let that number scare you. 80-85% is way too strong to enjoy reasonably. And that’s why water needs to be added to bring it to the desired percentage.
How much water? Let’s dive in…
So how strong is gin?
Straight from the bottle, most gins will fall somewhere between 40% and 45% alcohol by volume. That means when you buy a 750 ml bottle of gin, 300 of those mls are considered alcohol, while the remaining 450 mls are water or non-alcohol. Here is a list of 10 popular gins and their ABV.
Gin List by Alcohol Content
| Gin BRAND | Alcohol By Volume |
| Aviation Gin | 42% |
| Beefeater London Dry Gin | 45% |
| Bombay Sapphire | 47% |
| The Botanist Islay Dry Gin | 46% |
| Ford’s Gin | 45% |
| Hendrick’s Gin | 44% |
| Monkey 47 Dry Gin | 47% |
| Plymouth Gin Navy Strength | 57% |
| Sipsmith London Dry Gin | 41.6% |
| Tanqueray London Dry | 47.3% |
Why do Gins have different alcohol percentages or Proof?
The amount of alcohol in each gin isn’t an accident. Distillers are trying to bring forth and highlight particular botanical flavors and need to dilute their gins to find them. The amount of alcohol in gin will affect its aroma, flavor and how it feels in your mouth .
If you were to taste two gins, say Plymouth Gin and Plymouth Navy Strength, formulated with the exact same botanicals, they will taste different based on alcohol level.
Some flavors will go to the front, some will be subdued and some will disappear altogether. Be sure to check our home page for in depth flavor discussion.
ABV Price factor
Of course ABV can also be reflected in the price. Not all, but many bars will use lower ABV gins such as Gilbey’s or Fleishman’s as their house gin or rail gins. Both have the minimum allowed in the USA, which is 40%.
Alcohol Percent vs Proof: % vs. P
ABV and Proof both tell you how strong a gin is. The proof number you see is equal to twice the alcohol it contains. For example, Hendricks Gin is 88 Proof or you could think of it as 44% alcohol by volume.
The truth is that most countries don’t even label proof on liquor bottles anymore. In the past, not every authority used the same formula so labeling of proof was not uniform worldwide. In the United States proof is listed voluntarily but not required.
ABV is a much better standard to go by when comparing gins or any liquors.
