I tested all the fruit-infused gins from Malfy to Sainsbury’s and there’s a bottle you should avoid at all costs
IT’S gins all round as sales of the favourite summer tipple boom – and drinkers get fruitier than ever.
Whether your chosen blend is rhubarb or pineapple, blackcurrant or grapefruit, everyone is reaching for a splash of the good stuff.
Sales were down in 2022 but the party is now back on as business picks up and exports also thrive.
Enthusiasts are also spending more than ever on a bottle, often £30 or more for a craft one.
But you need not break the bank for a super sip.
Thea Jacobs samples fruity faves, ranging from budget to more pricey, and marks each out of five.
Malfy Citrus (£25, Waitrose)
★★☆☆☆
SMELLS like lemon sorbet and makes my mouth water.
There’s a rather bitter lemon bite and a synthetic aftertaste, which makes this feel a lot cheaper than it is.
It’s a disappointment after having the other Malfy family ones, which are delicious.
Given the market is flooded with lemon-flavoured gin, there is really no excuse such a premium brand coming up with a product this poor.
Hortus Orange & Passionfruit (Lidl, £14.99)
★★★☆☆
DELICIOUS passion fruit aroma is reminiscent of a Porn Star Martini.
Also tastes initially of passion fruit, before delivering a more orangey aftertaste as the tart passion fruit begins to die down.
A smooth drink, it barely tastes alcoholic and would be dangerous if you don’t want to get merry.
A fantastic gin for a very low price.
Lidl proves yet again that it knows what it’s doing.
Malfy Pink Grapefruit (Amazon, £23)
★★★★☆
LIKE a perfume, I’d quite happily spray myself with this to make me smell wonderful.
A little sweeter than your usual gin – and this has a very strong grapefruit flavour that stays with you long after you’ve sipped it.
There’s nothing else quite like it on the market and, even if there was, I doubt it would provide much competition.
Certainly one for the more sophisticated drinker.
Whitley Neill Pineapple (Sainsbury’s, £28)
★★★★★
SCREAMS pineapple the moment you pop the bottle open.
A bit odd with tonic but perfect with lemonade.
Pineapple shines through and leaves a lovely aftertaste.
Dangerously, it does not taste like alcohol – and if you don’t have a sweet tooth, avoid.
Time and time again, Whitley Neill proves it can take a fruit and create from it the perfect tipple.
But this tastes much better than its strawberry and raspberry offerings.
Warner’s Rhubarb (Morrisons, £36)
★★★★★
THE botanical scent jumps out as soon as you open the bottle – and if you like rhubarb, you’ll love this.
It packs a tart kick and is beautiful pink.
This gin is the most expensive of those I tried, and it’s not hard to see why once you start drinking.
It’s smooth from start to finish and reminds me of family dinners that were finished off with a Rhubarb crumble.
If you’ve got cash to splash, this is the one.
Whitley Neill Rhubarb & Ginger (Asda £22)
★★☆☆☆
DOESN’T smell of anything, which is a shock given it has ginger in it.
Tastes like artificially sweet- ened rhubarb, with a punch of ginger at the end – and the flavours don’t complement one another.
When I say a punch of ginger, I’m talking Tyson Fury-style, kind of knockout.
Nothing after it feels good.
Whitely Neill should stick to it usual recipe of just one fruit.
Pomegranate & Rose (Sainsbury’s, £18)
★★★☆☆
THIS offering from the chain’s Taste The Difference range smells incredible and makes the mouth water.
When mixed, the rose smell just sings.
This gin tastes like summer distilled – but a double shot may feel like you’re drinking perfume.
The pomegranate fails to come through much – a shame because I love this fruit and its tartness could offset the floral notes here.
Adnams Blackcurrant Gin, (Threshers, £32)
★☆☆☆☆
HORRIFIC whiff from this one – and nothing like blackcurrants.
Putting it in a purple bottle doesn’t do anything to hide the pungent stench.
It could be a Halloween special edition, judging from the bottle’s colour and decoration.
This drink is, in fact, the worst thing that I’ve ever put in my mouth, by a country mile – and I once even ate cat food, as a teenage dare.
I ruined a good glass of lemonade and one of tonic.