London Dry Gin vs Old Tom vs Plymouth Gin

London Dry Gin vs Old Tom and Plymouth: What the Names Actually Mean

Gin labelling is unusually confusing because the three most historically significant terms on the shelf describe three completely different kinds of thing. One is a production rule, one is a place, and one is a style with no legal definition at all. Understanding the London dry gin vs Old Tom distinction, and where Plymouth fits between them, does more for your drinking than memorising any number of brand names.

Here is what each term means, what it tastes like, and which drinks were actually written with it in mind.

London Dry Is a Method, Not a Postcode

London Dry is a legally defined production standard, and geography has nothing to do with it. To carry the name, a gin must take all of its flavour from botanicals distilled together with the spirit. Nothing may be added after distillation except water and a very small permitted quantity of sweetening, and no colouring is allowed at all.

That rule has a real consequence for taste. Because nothing can be added at the end, the distiller has to get everything right in the still, and the result is generally dry, precise and juniper-forward, with citrus and coriander seed doing much of the supporting work. There is nowhere to hide a mistake and nothing to smooth over a rough edge.

This is the style that most people picture when they think of gin, and it is the correct default for the drinks that define the category. A Dry Martini, a Negroni and a classic gin and tonic were all built around this kind of spirit. If you are choosing from the gin and spirits range and want one bottle that does everything, this is the style to buy.

Plymouth Is a Place, and It Tastes Like a Softer London Dry

Plymouth gin has been made continuously in the city since the late eighteenth century, and for many years the name carried a formal geographical protection. In practice it now denotes gin made at the single historic distillery in Plymouth rather than a broad category.

Stylistically it sits very close to London Dry but with the corners rounded off. There is less aggressive juniper, more earthy root character, and a slightly fuller, softer mouthfeel that comes from the botanical balance rather than from any added sugar. It is drier than Old Tom and softer than a typical London Dry.

Where it excels is in drinks where a very assertive gin fights the other ingredients. It makes a superb Dry Martini for anyone who finds a classic London Dry version too austere, and it is excellent in a gin and tonic with a grapefruit or orange peel garnish. Historically it was the specified gin in a great many pre-Prohibition recipes, so if an old cocktail book calls for Plymouth by name, it is worth taking seriously.

Old Tom Is the Missing Link

Old Tom is the style that connects Dutch genever to modern dry gin. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, distillation was cruder and the base spirit was rougher, so sugar was added to make gin palatable. As column distillation improved through the nineteenth century, the sugar became unnecessary, dry styles took over and Old Tom nearly disappeared.

It came back because bartenders rediscovered the classic cocktail repertoire and found that a great many recipes simply do not work with a dry gin. Old Tom is sweeter and fuller than London Dry, with a softer juniper profile and often a richer, more malty texture. There is no legal definition, so producers interpret it differently. Some sweeten a dry gin, some use a heavier distillate, and a few age it briefly in barrel.

The drinks that need it are specific. A Martinez, the ancestor of the Martini, is unbalanced and thin with London Dry. A Tom Collins was named for the style. A Ramos Gin Fizz benefits enormously from the extra body. In each case the sweetness is structural rather than decorative.

How to Substitute Without Ruining the Drink

You can move between the three, as long as you compensate for sugar and intensity.

Replacing Old Tom with London Dry means adding roughly 5 ml of sugar syrup per 50 ml measure, and accepting that you will not recover the body, only the sweetness. Going the other way, if a recipe written for London Dry is made with Old Tom, cut the syrup in the recipe by the same amount or remove it entirely.

Plymouth can replace London Dry in almost any drink with no adjustment. The result is gentler and slightly earthier, which suits stirred drinks better than shaken ones. Replacing Plymouth with London Dry works too, but consider using slightly less vermouth in a Martini, since the gin is doing more of the talking.

The one substitution that rarely works is using Old Tom in a Negroni or a Dry Martini. Both drinks depend on the gin providing dryness against sweeter ingredients, and Old Tom removes that tension.

Which One Should You Actually Buy?

If you own one gin, make it a good London Dry. It covers the entire modern repertoire, it works with tonic, and it is the reference point against which everything else is judged.

If you own two, add Plymouth. It gives you a genuinely different Martini and a softer gin and tonic without duplicating what you already have.

Old Tom is the third bottle, and it earns its place only if you make classic cocktails. Bought speculatively it tends to sit unopened, since it is not an ideal gin and tonic base. Bought because you want to make a proper Martinez, it is indispensable.

Taste all three side by side at room temperature before you mix anything with them. The differences are obvious neat and become subtle once tonic is involved, so the neat tasting is where you actually learn what you have bought.

If you want to compare a couple of styles this weekend, we deliver across London inside the M25 in 30 to 45 minutes, 24 hours a day, along with mixers, ice and anything from the beer and wine shelves. Check the areas we cover before you order.

Please drink responsibly. Drinks House 247 operates a Challenge 21 policy - you must be 18 or over to order, and our drivers will ask for photo ID if you look under 21.