London Gin – 200ml

Hoos London Gin in the small tasting bottle

Hoos London Gin is a dry London Dry Gin from Karlsruhe, available here in a 200 ml bottle. Heiko Hoos bottles it unfiltered and numbers each bottle by hand.

London Gin is the London Dry Gin from Heiko Hoos in Karlsruhe, available here in a 200 ml edition. Intended for anyone who wants to get to know a gin before committing to a full-sized bottle. It contains fifteen botanicals, and at 44.4 percent alcohol, this small bottle is anything but a half-measure.

Resin, citrus, and a hint of meadow

This gin is dry, clear, and direct, led by a bold juniper base followed by resinous pine shoots. Chamomile flowers and lavender add a meadow-like quality, while lemon and orange peel keep the profile bright and fresh. Those who have tried many gins will quickly recognize that the herbs here aren't just for decoration; they form the backbone of the spirit.

Cubeb pepper and mace add a dark, slightly peppery layer underneath, and angelica provides structure. Soft spring water from the Palatinate Forest brings the gin down to drinking strength, and because no filters are involved, everything the still produced remains in the bottle. This makes for a bold character that never feels harsh in the glass.

The small bottle as a gift and introduction

Two hundred milliliters are enough for about four Gin & Tonics, making this bottle a great opportunity to try the Karlsruhe-based spirit at your leisure. It also works perfectly as a small gift, as the dark bottle with the elegant "H" needs no extra packaging. For those who want to compare several gins, these small formats go much further than an opened 0.7-liter bottle sitting in the cupboard.

A dry tonic remains the classic partner because it lets the juniper stand out rather than covering it up. It must be cold, and plenty of ice is essential to prevent the drink from diluting too quickly. Rosemary or an orange zest brings out the herbal notes even more. If you like this gin, the large 500 ml bottle is waiting, and the fruity Pink Grapefruit is also available in the same size.

Heiko Hoos does everything himself

Heiko Hoos started in 2014, without an investor or a spirits conglomerate in the background, and that has not changed to this day. He tinkered with the recipe for a long time, drew the elegant "H" himself, and searched for a bottle until it perfectly matched the contents. The effort is in the product, not the marketing—that is Heiko's philosophy, and it shows in the simple bottle.

Each distillation batch yields no more than 120 bottles, each with its own number on the label. The botanicals are macerated in neutral alcohol for two days, then distilled at a low temperature in a copper still, and the gin rests for several weeks before it is bottled.

That his hard work is appreciated was proven by the silver medal at the 2015 International Spirits Competition, following the Best Innovation Award from the Cocktail Spirits in Paris which had already gone to Karlsruhe. The entire range can be found at Hoos, and its peers are on the gin shelf. Small, but by no means modest.