2025 Gentleman’s Journal Drinks Awards

The world of drinks is an increasingly crowded one, with a seemingly never-ending array of Provence rosés and ever-more exotically flavoured gins being released on a weekly basis. A spot of pruning was required to sort the contenders from the pretenders, so we honed in on some of our favourite wines and spirits tasted across the last 12 months. These were then prepped and primed for blind tasting by an expert panel in the august surroundings of The Berkeley hotel in our home patch of Knightsbridge.

To give their verdict on our select shortlist, we assembled a crack team of tasters, headed by our wine editor Guy Woodward, whose recommendations appear regularly in these pages. As the former editor of Decanter magazine, his expertise is primarily in all things vinous, but taking up the editorship at Club Oenologique magazine saw him expand his repertoire to spirits coverage. Today he runs his own content creation agency, Grand Cru Creative.

Joining him were a roster of top talent from London’s bar and restaurant scene. Denise Elisei is head bartender at The Dorchester hotel’s Vesper Bar, where she oversees a cocktail list built on the foundations of the ‘olfactory pyramid’: the head (top notes); heart (middle notes); and base (end notes).

Dominic Hamdy is the founder of HAM Restaurants group, which comprises four London sites including Spitalfields wine bar Crispin and Bistro Freddie in Shoreditch.

They were joined by Max Venning, owner of the award-winning Three Sheets cocktail bar in Dalston, which this summer launched its second site in Soho. Venning also runs a bar and restaurant consultancy advising new businesses.

All the wines and spirits were served to our panel blind, which is to say not that the judges were blindfolded (this tends to get messy). Instead, the bottles were not visible to them and the liquids were poured into unmarked glasses so as to be tasted free of prejudice, and scored entirely on the merits of what was in the glass. So – cue drumroll – all rise for our winners...

1. Champagne Telmont Réserve Brut

2. Krug Champagne Grande Cuvée 172 Edition

3. Ruinart Champagne Brut 1729

Telmont isn’t a household name in the world of fizz, but that might change after stealing a win from a clutch of grandes marques. To relegate the estimable Krug into second place is no mean feat, but under new owner Remy Cointreau, Telmont has upped its game via a commitment to producing more organic varieties as well as more precise winemaking. It’s paying off, with director of Three Sheets Bar Max Venning lauding this as “rich and full [with a] great body” and “complex for a non-vintage”.

1. Hattingley Valley Blanc de Blancs 2015

2. Wiston Estate Blanc de Blancs NV

3. Chapel Down Kit’s Coty Blanc de Blancs 2019

The vineyards of Hattingley Valley began as an extension to a large Hampshire farm; in the subsequent years it has established itself among the leading lights of England’s sparkling wine scene. This is blanc de blancs made purely from Chardonnay, but don’t be fooled into thinking it is a mere one-dimensional fizz. Denise Elisei, head bartender at The Dorchester’s Vesper Bar was wowed by its “intense aroma of yeast, bread, lemon zest and secondary notes of apple – all well-balanced, with a long finish”.

1. Château La Coste Provence Rosé 2023

2. Mirabeau Pure Provence Rose 2023

3. Domaines Ott Clos Mireille Rosé AOC Côtes de Provence 2023

Château la Coste is part art gallery, part hotel, part winery – a stunning location in Provence that’s home to 125 hectares of organically farmed vineyards. The wines those vines produce get better and better, as evidenced by this classic rosé which wine editor Guy Woodward described as having a “lifted nose of sugared almond, candy floss and a touch of hedgerow. Nice strawberries and cream palate – good texture and depth, and far more character than many Provence rosés”.

1. Hattiers Egremont Premium Reserve Rum

2. Eminente Gran Reserva

3. Mount Gay Black Barrel Double Cask Blend

Hattiers is an upstart compared to some rum giants. The Devon-based bottler imports rums from around the world, before blending them and bringing them down to bottling strength with soft Dartmoor water. The result, said Dom Hamdy, managing director of Bar Crispin and Bistro Freddie, is, “A very precise rum with a refreshing subtlety: complex on the nose, with a lighter, more restrained touch on the palate”.

1. Clase Azul Tequila Reposado

2. Herradura Reposado

3. Don Julio 1942

Amid a wave of new brands entering the tequila market in recent years, tradition won out. Clase Azul is notable not just for its traditional, ceramic decanter, but an eight-month ageing regime in American whiskey casks, which lends its distinctive nutty, vanilla flavours and smooth mouthfeel. Elisei picked out the grassy nose, with notes of ash, citrus and honey on a palate that is “clear, elegant and herbaceous, with honey and peppery notes”. The round and sweet finish completes the package.

1. Haku Vodka

2. Cîroc Vodka

3. Grey Goose

‘Haku’ is Japanese for ‘white’ and refers to the rice that is double-distilled as the base for this vodka, as well as the purity and luminosity that comes with filtering through bamboo charcoal. Crafted by the venerable Suntory house, the resultant liquid boasts “an array of spice, white flower and citrus with a long satisfying finish,” said Venning, who remarked on its creamy, full and smooth finish. In perhaps the greatest accolade, he added, “This would make a great Martini.”

1. Lind & Lime Gin

2. No.3 Gin

3. Palmaráe Gin Premier Cru & Presentation Tube

While some claim the boom has bust, the wealth of gin bottlings on the market suggests the popularity of the spirit shows no sign of slowing. An array of ever-more exotic botanicals have been enthusiastically embraced by innovative distillers. However, there is a sense in the bartending world that clear and simple often plays best when it comes to mixing. Venning appreciated the balanced and nicely floral profile of Lind & Lime’s sole rendering, which he praised for being “smooth and not too overpowering”.

1. Sazerac Rye

2. WhistlePig Old World Rye (Aged 12 years)

3. Woodford Reserve Double Oaked

With its spicier make-up based on the intensity and graininess of its primary component, Rye is garnering increasing kudos in the whiskey community – and with examples such as the Sazerac and WhistlePig renderings here, it’s not hard to see why. Of the former, which narrowly took the title, Woodward said, “Mellow but expressive nose of hazelnut and chocolate orange. Nice balance of flowers without anything being overly dominant – honey, vanilla, caramel working together to create a harmonious whole.”

1. Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old

2. Karuizawa Spirit of Asama

3. Suntory Hakushyu 12 Year Old

Now owned by spirits giant Suntory, Yamazaki was Japan’s first malt whisky distillery when it opened just more than a century ago – and remains its most reputed. Originally guided strongly by the Scotch whisky orthodoxy, it continues to embrace the pure essence of single malt production. Elisei praised this bottling’s golden colour and nose of pepper, banana, tropical fruit and vanilla. “So elegant and rounded,” she added, picking out its “tropical and spicy” tones.

1. The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old

2. The Macallan Double Cask 12 Year Old

3. The Dalmore 12 Year Old

The youngest of the aged categories, 12-year-old Scotch is often portrayed as a crowd-pleaser. In this case The Balvenie’s second maturation in sherry casks (after initial ageing in ex-bourbon casks) lends it a winning depth and richness that saw it edge out the much-prized Macallan and Dalmore bottlings. Elisei loved the “pear, white-flower and woody nose”, leading to “honey and pepper notes on the palate”, while Woodward was impressed by the “harmonious, rounded and viscous” texture, which was marked by “toffee-apple, caramel and beeswax tones”.

1. Glenturret 15 Years Old

2. Glen Scotia 15 Year Old

3. The Glendronach 15 Year Old

Glenturret, these days owned by the storied French glassware brand Lalique, continues to move itself more closely to the summit of the Scotch whisky league table – and not just for its destination distillery, complete with Michelin-starred restaurant on site. Hamdy was blown away by the complexity of its 15 year bottling, notably the deep notes of marzipan, the imposing weight and texture as well as the “fabulously long finish”.

1. Loch Lomond 18 Year Old

2. The Singleton 18 Year Old

3. Laphroaig 18 Year Old

Scotch lovers expect a greater degree of complexity from an 18 year old, and all three contenders most certainly contain that. Thereafter, much comes down to personal taste – the smoky, peaty tones of island distilleries such as Laphroaig or the creamier, fruity notes of the likes of Singleton and Loch Lomond on the mainland. In the end, the latter won out, Loch Lomond’s balanced palate winning over Venning for its “subtle stone fruit and smooth finish”, while Elisei was impressed by the “well-integrated spice and minty, fresh nose.”

1. The Pathfinder Spirit

2. Gnista Barreled Oak

3. Pentire Coastal Spritz

The no-and-low category has exploded in recent years as partygoers look for non-alcoholic alternatives with genuine character and mouthfeel. The world of spirits has embraced the challenge, yielding a range of options, many of which are direct replacements for the alcoholic part of a cocktail. The Pathfinder is a hemp-based option that tastes, smells and looks like a spirit, but clocks in at less than 0.5% ABV. As Venning said, it makes for “a great G&T replacement – refreshing and balanced”.

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