Booth's Gin is a once well-known and widely consumed make of London dry gin, recently reintroduced after years of being unavailable. It was founded by a Lincolnshire branch of the ancient Booth family in about 1740.[1]
Booth's Gin was most famously sold in distinctive hexagonal glass bottles. Its paper labelling alluded to the Red Lion distillery in Clerkenwell where the drink was originally produced,[2] and to the heraldic crest of the Booth family.
Known as the "gentleman's gin", reputedly it was a favourite of both Queen Elizabeth II, and the Queen Mother.[3] English novelist and critic Sir Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) favoured Booth's as a mixer for pink gin.[4]
The brand, owned by Diageo Spirits, was by the 21st century only produced in the United States and ceased production in 2017.[5] In November 2018, the brand was sold to the Sazerac Company.[6]
Sazerac recommenced production of Booth's Finest Old Dry Gin in the United Kingdom in 2022.[7]
See also
- Sir Felix Booth
External links
References
- Review of Booth's Finest Dry Gin by the GIN is IN. theginisin.com, retrieved 17 February 2018^
- British History Online |www.british-history.ac.uk: 'Clerkenwell Road', in Survey of London: Volume 46, South and East Clerkenwell, ed. Philip Temple (London, 2008), pp. 385-406.^
- Gin and Tonic The Greasy Spoon | Food & Culture^