A Tale of Tanqueray: your favourite bartender’s favourite gin

Tanqueray makes a great gin. 

Its London dry gins are crisp, refreshing, and boast a rich juniper flavour. Ideal for a refreshing G&T, perfect for a Dry Martini. 

If you take nothing else away from this article than this, then you’ve learnt the most important thing about the brand.

But if you want to know about the two centuries of history behind the brand, how the gin is made, and what it all has to do with Stanley Tucci, please read on. 

This is the tale of Tanqueray: your favourite bartender’s favourite gin.

The Tanqueray Gin Range

First, let’s meet the gins themselves. The Tanqueray core range currently comprises six gins, two classic London dry gins, three flavoured editions, and an alcohol-free option. 

Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Tanqueray London Dry Gin is made with just four botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, angelica, and liquorice root. It goes to show what you can do with the right balance and the brand’s unwavering commitment to this formula has set it apart.

Nose: Aromatic. Cedar, juniper oil, and a little citrus zest.

Palate: Huge juniper, spicy notes of orange and lemon peel, a little aniseed.

Finish: Long finish, very full and thick with juniper.

Tanqueray No. Ten Gin

Tanqueray No. Ten Gin is distilled four times with whole grapefruit, orange, lime and chamomile flowers. Look at all those five-star reviews. A mean Martini awaits.

Nose: Perfumed, aromatic nose with notes of tangy grapefruit zest, creamy custard and clean juniper.

Palate: A mix of incredibly clean, spicy juniper, hints of Earl Grey tea and cardamom. Very citrus-rich.

Finish: Long, zesty finish.

Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla Gin

Did you know that founder Charles Tanqueray visited the orange groves of Spain back in the 1860s and created a gin recipe based on Seville oranges? What a trailblazer. Nearly 140 years later, in early 2018, Tanqueray recreated the recipe.

Nose: Bright, zesty orange and crisp juniper are followed by subtle notes of vanilla and warm allspice.

Palate: A lively burst of fresh orange flesh, balanced by more earthy juniper, vanilla, and warming spice. The texture is smooth, with a slightly tangy edge.

Finish: Medium-length with lingering orange zest and a touch of sweet spice. The juniper fades gently, leaving a clean and refreshing aftertaste.

Tanqueray Blackcurrant Royale Gin

Another gin inspired by Charlie T’s journeys, this time to France. Tanqueray’s classic botanicals meet French blackcurrants, vanilla, and black orchid here for a gin that should do handsomely in a twist on a Kir Royale, or perhaps a Bramble.

Nose: Rich, juicy blackcurrant and bright raspberry then a floral layer of vanilla blossom to complement the fruity sweetness. Earthy juniper provides a grounding spiciness.

Palate: Succulent blackcurrant leads, balanced by tart raspberry and classic juniper. Vanilla adds a creamy softness, which blends with subtle spice and an underlying herbal character.

Finish: The finish is fruity, warming, and slightly floral, with sweet blackcurrant fading into soft vanilla and a touch of juniper spice.

Tanqueray Rangpur Lime Gin

A vibrant, aromatic expression here, the rare Rangpur lime is a mix between lime and mandarin, offering up a fresh zesty character, supported by ginger and bay leaf. Try this in a Bees Knees!

Nose Lots of zest on the nose, fresh citrus peel and just-cut botanicals.

Palate Not as sharp and citric as the nose suggests, instead offering a pleasantly balanced gin flavour that’s instantly recognisable as Tanqueray.

Finish Smooth yet dry and lemony.

Tanqueray Alcohol Free 0.0%

Made to capture the junipery deliciousness of Tanqueray Gin using a secret distillation process, Tanqueray Alcohol Free 0.0% is for those who don’t drink. The designated drivers. The Dry Janners. The Sober Octoberists. Or anyone who just doesn’t fancy alcohol, whatever their reason. Expect notes of oily juniper, liquorice, lemon zest, and pine when mixed into a G&T. You can also get Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla Alcohol Free now too.

The history of Tanqueray Gin

Who invented Tanqueray Gin?

It was back in the 1830s that Charles Tanqueray first created his signature gin. Originally a family of silversmiths that swapped France for England, the Tanquerays counted three successive generations of rectors. But our hero rather broke rank, swapping the clergy for gin. His new holy water was the prime spa water found in Bloomsbury, a significant reason why he established the retail outlet of Edward & Charles Tanqueray & Co on Vine Street, London, in 1838.

The Tanqueray gin recipe was an original, one said to have taken a lot of experimentation. Legendary gin distiller and former Tanqueray maker Tom Nichol, however, suspected a more experienced distiller must have had a hand in its creation given how good it was.

When did Diageo buy Tanqueray Gin?

When Charles died in 1868, his son Charles Waugh Tanqueray inherited the distillery and found great success in the export market. A merger with Gordon & Company in 1897 formed the Tanqueray Gordon & Company. Production moved to Gordon’s Distillery on Goswell Road, Clerkenwell, and Tanqueray began to be shipped to the United States, where it continues to dominate today.

A further alliance was sought in 1922 when Tanqueray Gordon & Company joined the Distillers Company. This organisation, formed in 1877 when six Scotch whisky distilleries had joined forces, would later become United Distillers (when it was acquired by Guinness in 1986) and finally Diageo, the global giant that continues to own and manufacture Tanqueray today.

Diageo today has more than 200 brands, including Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Johnnie Walker, Gordon’s Gin, and Baileys.

Where is Tanqueray Gin made?

The original distillery was sadly destroyed by an air raid in 1941 during World War II. A solitary still, ‘Old Tom’, survived. The new Goswell Road Distillery opened in 1957 after six years of construction and included Old Tom. 

In 1989, the production of Gordon’s and Tanqueray gin moved from Goswell Road to Laindon Distillery in Basildon, Essex to meet growing demand. That site closed in 1998 and is now a business estate named Juniper Park. At this point, the gin-making moved to Cameron Bridge Distillery. 

Previously a large-scale grain whisky distillery, Cameron Bridge became a ‘dual-purpose’ site in 1998. Grain whisky for blends like Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell’s, Black & White, Vat 69, Haig and White Horse continued to be made here, but so did grain neutral spirit (GNS) for white spirits and ‘sweetened products’ such as Archers, Pimm’s, Smirnoff, Gordon’s Gin, and Tanqueray.  

Why is the Tanqueray Gin bottle green?

The familiar design of the Tanqueray gin bottle was chosen in 1948. Before that, numerous shapes and styles had been used. 

The distinctive bottle has become its own brand, in no small part due to how much of a hit it was in the US. Especially given it was the only green-bottled gin available in America at the time.

But it wasn’t inspired by a fire hydrant, as some think. Instead, it was informed by bottles used to house pre-mixed Tanqueray cocktails sold in the 20s. 

Is Tanqueray Gin still a family brand?

The last member of the family to work with the brand was John Tanqueray, the great-great-grandson of the founder, Charles. He worked there from 1964 until hw retired in 1989.

When was Tanqueray No. Ten Gin released?

In the good ol’ days Tanqueray was known for its classic London Dry Gin. But if you think flavoured gin is a modern fancy, think again. Tanqueray produced both orange and lemon gins from 1937 until 1957. It even launched a vodka in 1989, Tanqueray Sterling Vodka, available in neutral and citrus flavours (heavily marketed towards the US).

Tanqueray No. Ten Gin was introduced in 2000. Targeted towards the Martini market well before the gin boom, it must be regarded as one of the finest releases of its era, a success purely because of how damn good it is. If this is your Martini gin, you’re one of many.

The citrusy Tanqueray Rangpur Gin, named after the city in Bangladesh where the signature lime got its name, launched across US cities in the summer of 2006. Blackcurrant Royale Gin followed in 2021, with French blackcurrant as its star ingredient. The same year a non-alcoholic alternative, Tanqueray 0.0%, was released.

What does Stanley Tucci have to do with Tanqueray Gin?

Tanqueray has had a number of notable media appearances over the years. In the 2008 episode “The Jet Set”, Mad Men fans will recall that Duck Phillips receives a crate of the gin from former colleagues in the UK to initiate a purchase of Sterling Cooper. 

Famous ad characters associated with Tanqueray include “Mr Jenkins”, a gentleman with white hair and spiffy clothes who first appeared in print ads in 1994. “For a while there, if you went to any major city in the U.S. or opened any popular magazine, you would find an ad, a billboard, or a bus shelter poster featuring Mr. Jenkins,” says Jim DeCorpo, who produced an abundance of these ads working for Deutsch in New York, “He was a fictitious character who personified the Tanqueray brand like no one else could”.

In 2004 the direction shifted dramatically to “Tony Sinclair”, a dandy hipster socialite portrayed by Rodney Mason. He would end each ad with the line, “Ready to Tanqueray?” In recent years, both Joe Jonas and Stanley Tucci have teamed up with the brand. Most notably in March 2022 when the Netflix series Bridgerton launched a video campaign featuring Jonas and in October 2022 when Tanqueray No. Ten Gin and Tucci created a new ad, called Make It A Martini Night.

Does Tanqueray Gin have a Royal Warrant?

Tanqueray Gordon & Company has been given five Royal Warrants in the last century, with the first coming in 1925 and the last recently when King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla announced their second round of Royal Warrants in December 2024. 

Is Tanqueray Gin the biggest gin in the world?

According to the most recent data, only sister company Gordon’s Gin outsells Tanqueray. In 2023, the latter was ranked second in the list of biggest-selling gin brands, according to data supplied to The Brand Champions 2024 report by The Spirits Business.

Tanqueray saw off stiff competition from Bombay Sapphire, selling 90,000 cases for a total of 4.7m sales. However, this was down 15.7% from 2022 sales of 5.5m, although that was still enough to improve on its 3rd-place finish that year. 

Things seemingly haven’t improved in 2024 as Diageo reported flat organic net sales for the year ending 30 June 2024, with Tanqueray tumbling by 11%. The company did express confidence that organic net sales growth would return once the consumer environment improved, while a “super-premium boom” is also tipped for the US.

How Tanqueray Gin is made

Is Tanqueray Gin made to a secret recipe?

Tanqueray is made to a recipe that has remained unchanged since 1830. 

It has four key botanicals: Tuscan juniper, angelica root, coriander seed, and liquorice root. The strong, juniper-led flavour comes from a sublime balance of each element. 

The brand has a two-year supply from around the world for its botanicals and some of its supplier relationships go back 190 years. The pass rate for botanical quality is about 90%, so only the best will do. The juniper is aged for 2 years to dry it out, reduce the water content, and concentrate the flavour. 

Coriander seed, known to most as a fragrant Asian spice, when distilled has this warming, citrusy quality. Angelica is known in perfume for its musky, earthy scent, but in gin, it’s the balancer, the element that brings everything else together with faint and aromatic hints of white pepper and bitter cacao. Liquorice root is the final botanical, used more sparingly than the rest, but crucial still not to contribute a sweet, aniseed flavour, but to give the gin a thick mouthfeel and rich sweetness. 

Is Tanqueray Gin made to the one-shot or multi-shot method?

The grain neutral spirit (GNS) for Tanqueray gins is made on rectifiers at Cameron Bridge, the same used to make Smirnoff vodka. It’s crafted from wheat and is extremely pure. Most gin distillers buy GNS from third-party distillers, so Tanqueray has more control over the quality and consistency of its spirit. It also boasts an on-site state-of-the-art laboratory where botanicals and samples are tested. 

The move to Scotland posed a challenge for the distillers to retain Tanqueray’s character. Stills and other equipment you can move, local water you can’t. The solution was to extract water from a deep borehole on the distillery’s grounds and blend it with demineralised water to mirror the character of London water. Tanqueray Ten is produced using only the demineralised water.

While some distillers steep botanicals in neutral alcohol before distillation, Tanqueray distils immediately, believing long maceration stews the botanicals. The botanicals must be distilled with water and GNS so the still doesn’t boil dry and burn the botanicals. 

Tanqueray still practices one-shot distillation. This means all the botanicals are distilled in a single, continuous process without any pre-distillation concentration. The recipe is macerated and distilled just once, producing the gin at its final strength and flavour. This method is more traditional but less efficient than the more common ‘multiple-shot’ method, which uses less energy and takes less time as the botanicals are distilled in a more concentrated form and then diluted.

Is Tanqueray Gin sustainable?

Diageo is currently committed to a 10-year ESG action plan called Spirit of Progress. Designed to address the most significant environmental and social opportunities and risks of today, it has three core priorities: promote positive drinking (hence the alcohol-free editions), champion inclusion and diversity, and pioneer grain-to-glass sustainability. 

Responsible water stewardship, achieving net zero carbon emissions, regenerative agriculture practices, reducing single-use packaging and deploying and scaling circular business models are all sustainable commitments Diageo has made, which will apply to Tanqueray Gin. The company is also investing in technology and partnerships to develop pioneering sustainability solutions. 

Of course, actions mean more than words, so time will tell how much good the Spirit of Progress will bring. Optimistically, a drinks company this size making these commitments is significant and if it can pull these off it will have a sizeable impact. 

Is Tanqueray Gin the bartender’s choice for a Martini?

Tanqueray’s reputation is thanks to many factors, its signature look, its ability to mix into a number of drinks easily at home, its long and storied history, the fact that it’s everywhere – from supermarket shelves to high-class bars… 

It’s the latter though that has made this brand so enduring. Bartenders bloody love a bit of Tanqueray. Fans cite its high proof and balanced flavour, which give it the versatility to shine in classic cocktails such as the Gin & Tonic, Martini, and Negroni. It enhances rather than overpowers, allowing bartenders to craft drinks with precision and consistency.

The Connaught’s Ago Peronne, Artesian Bar’s Gulia Curccurullo, Satan’s Whiskers’ Yoann Tarditi, and Fermenthinks co-founder Matteo Di ienno are all official Tanqueray Tastemakers but that barely even scratches the surface. Go into any bar tonight, from your standard local to the swankiest place in town and there’s a very good bet they both have Tanqueray. 

The London Dry Gin is the ultimate for mixing into whatever your heart desires, from a simple Gin & Tonic to a Clover Club or Southside. Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, however, holds a special place in many a bartender’s heart. It’s a bit of an industry go-to when it comes to making Martinis. Try it for yourself. Ask the question: “What is your Martini gin?” See how many bartenders say No. Ten.

The Last Drop: Tanqueray Gin

Tanqueray has built a legacy in gin. An unchanged recipe, a signature look, and bartender loyalty have propelled it to stardom over the years, ensuring that its gin remains a favourite for classic and contemporary serves.

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