10 Of The Most Expensive Gins in the World

Discover the world’s priciest gins, each offering a unique experience. Highlights include Jam Jar Gin Morus LXIV, crafted from mulberry leaves; Cambridge Distillery Watenshi Gin, made with rare Japanese botanicals; and Nolet’s Reserve Gin, infused with saffron. These gins are distinguished by their exceptional ingredients and meticulous distillation processes, making them highly prized by collectors and enthusiasts.

What Makes Certain Gins More Expensive?

Gins don’t begin to approach the values of fine whiskeys or wines, and there’s one simple reason for this – gin isn’t aged. While many fine spirits set themselves apart from their inferior counterparts due to their ageing process, gin isn’t one of these. 

Once gin is distilled, it only needs to rest for around two weeks before it is ready to be sold. Ageing doesn’t increase the quality as is the case with other spirits and liquors. 

So, to set their products apart, gin brewers need to be creative. You can distil gin with an almost endless variety of botanicals, so there is far more room for innovation than there is with other spirits. 

A knowledge of flavour combinations is key to crafting a good gin. You don’t want to overwhelm the senses with every fruit and flower you can find. Rather, you want to find ingredients that combine well to create a unique and pleasing flavour. 

The time and care that goes into the distillation process also play a role in the quality of the gin. Some dedicated brewers distil each botanical ingredient individually before blending them, which can be costly and time-consuming but can also make for a superior flavour. 

Some gins also use rare and expensive botanicals to create unique flavours that can’t be produced en masse. 

With gin, there isn’t one characteristic that sets it apart as universally good, like age. Rather a gin’s popularity is mostly based on personal preference. A combination of flavours that one person likes may not cater to the tastes of another.

In other words, the diversity of gin allows for creativity and experimentation, but not everyone will enjoy your product. Some people like strawberries and others don’t, some love the smell of lavender while it gives others a headache. The same principle applies to gin. You can’t cater to everyone’s tastes, no matter how skilled you are. 

That being said, there are still a few gins on the market that sell for incredibly high prices. These are the top 3 most expensive gins in the world:

Jam Jar Gin Morus LXIV -$7,400

Produced by Morus, this gin comes in gorgeous, handcrafted porcelain jars and includes a porcelain stirring cup. The bottle’s design and craftsmanship are absolutely stunning. 

The brewing process relies on the leaves of a single, ancient mulberry tree whose leaves are hand-picked, carefully so as not to overharvest and damage the tree. The leaves are then hung and left to air dry until the best ones are selected for distillation. 

Morus is one of the few high-end gin producers that swear by the ageing process for its full flavour profile and remarkable strength. All told, it takes two years to produce a batch of this gin, and a bottle will cost you 7 400 US dollars. It is sold exclusively at Harvey Nichols in the UK. 

Cambridge Distillery Watenshi Gin- $3,500

Although this gin is produced in the UK, it is made entirely using Japanese botanicals, setting it apart from other British gins. This, however, is not the only reason that this gin is so unique and expensive. A “Watenshi” is a Japanese angel, which refers to what has been dubbed “the angels share” of a spirit – the minuscule amount of vaporous spirit that can only be captured under very specific distillation conditions. 

This entirely unique and laborious process yields just 15 ml of gin per distillation. As a result, only 36 bottles of Watenshi Gin can be produced per year. Its scarcity and unique distillation process make Watenshi Gin one of the most exclusive and expensive gins in the world, with each bottle selling for upwards of 3 500 US dollars. 

Nolet’s Reserve Gin – $1,200

Nolet’s Distillery has been in business for over three centuries, having been passed down from generation to generation. Carolus Nolet is the 10^th generation of Nolet to own and run his family business. Nolet’s Reserve Gin is one of his personal creations. 

The main reason for this gin’s exorbitant price is the use of saffron in the distillation process. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world at roughly 8 US dollars per gram. In addition to this, Carolus Nolet himself personally carries out the quality testing for every batch produced. 

Each bottle is marked and numbered by hand before being placed in an attractive casing and shipped to select dealers. There are a limited number of bottles produced each year, so even if you do have the money to spend on Nolet’s Reserve, you might have to put your name on a waiting list before you glimpse one. 

A bottle of Nolet’s Reserve gin will cost at least 700 US dollars and can range as high as 1 200 US dollars. 

7 Expensive Gins

The top 3 most expensive gins have impressive price tags, but these 7 gins are not cheap either:

1. Adler KPM Edition Berlin Dry Gin – $387
2. Kyoto Distillery Ki Noh Bi Cask Aged Gin – $346
3. Thames Distillers Fifty Pounds Cask at the Back Aged Gin  – $259
4. Sarti Dry Gin – $253
5. Cambridge Distillery Anty Gin  – $235
6. Gin Sul Limao do Sul Dry Gin – $231
7.  Gin Sul Fogo do Sul Spicy Goa Dry Gin –  $228

A Drink That Keeps Gaining New Fans

Gin is first and foremost an English spirit, but as its popularity has grown, producers from all over the world have taken to using their own local botanicals to produce ever greater varieties of it. 

Although this may dilute its potential value somewhat, it also improves the potential for encountering new and exciting varieties that can surprise and delight even the most seasoned gin connoisseurs. This, in our books, makes it exciting in its own unique way.