Gin stills and how gin is distilled

A gin still is where a distillery makes distilled gin. The alcohol is distilled there with juniper and other botanicals, and the rules for gin turn on whether that happened.

Producing spirits in the UK needs approval from HMRC, even for your own use. GOV.UK's exemption for producing alcohol at home covers "domestic use (this excludes spirits)".

Three kinds of gin

The Gin Guild, a body for the gin trade, sets out the rules that define three kinds of gin. It says they are largely mirrored across the UK and the EU.

Plain gin is a juniper-flavoured spirit made by flavouring ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin with juniper berries. The taste has to be mainly juniper, and the strength at least 37.5% alcohol by volume.

Distilled gin is where the still comes in. It is made by distilling ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, with a starting strength of at least 96%, in the presence of juniper berries and other natural botanicals. Juniper has to be the main taste. A gin made simply by adding essences or flavourings to alcohol is not distilled gin.

London gin is a distilled gin with further limits. All of its flavour has to come from distilling the alcohol with every natural plant material used. The distillate must be at least 70% alcohol by volume, and it may not be sweetened beyond 0.1 grams per litre. The Gin Guild notes that in the UK no colouring may be added.

The word "dry" may be added to the name of a gin or distilled gin with no more than 0.1 grams of added sweetening per litre. London gin may carry it too.

Approval from HMRC

GOV.UK's guidance says, "You must hold an APPA before you start to produce alcoholic products in the UK." APPA stands for alcoholic products producer approval.

It lists two exemptions from that rule, "domestic use (this excludes spirits)" and "research or experimental purposes".

HMRC's approval is for named categories of product and named premises. The guidance says, "It is an offence to produce alcoholic products without the appropriate approval, or on premises that we have not approved." HMRC can charge a penalty, and it can confiscate the products and any equipment used to make them.

What the label may say

GOV.UK's guidance on labelling spirit drinks covers some gin names, and some of its rules differ between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A "low alcohol gin and tonic" is allowed where all the alcohol comes from gin.

The guidance rules out labels such as "low alcohol gin", because such a drink would be neither a compound term nor within the gin category, which sets a minimum strength. It rules out category names such as "gin alternative" too, on websites and in marketing as well as on the bottle.

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