The Globalist's Guide To Drinking Gin

Martinis are manly, but there are more worldly ways to enjoy gin. Here are the new rules.

- Jason Horn

For most of the past 500 years, gin—which has just recently become the go-to insider order of the cocktail cognoscenti—has been perceived as a product of either England or Holland. The Dutch popularized the stuff (it was originally genever, a more whiskey-like juniper-flavored spirit), and then the British cornered the market with London dry gin—a clean, crisp, juniper-heavy style that was the base of the lunchtime martinis of the Mad Men era. But thanks to the growing craft-distillery movement, great gins that break the rules and incorporate new flavors, unfamiliar styles and unique ingredients are now being made across the globe. Creative bartenders are discovering new ways to use these innovative gins. With that in mind, here are five rules to help you explore the new world of global gin—no English or Dutch required. All the international bottles mentioned below are (or will soon be) available in the States, and they’re a welcome change from tradition.

1. THINK BEYOND THE MARTINI