10 Reasons we love Tanqueray No. TEN

There’s no better way to pay tribute to Tanqueray No. TEN than by listing 10 multifaceted reasons to give this premium gin pride of place in your bar or on your drinks trolley

1 While most gins on the market use citrus peel or rind in their recipes, Tanqueray No. TEN was the first to use fresh whole grapefruit, lime and orange.

2 Tanqueray No. TEN is a forerunner in the shift towards New Western Style Gin (also known as New Western Dry Gin) adopted by more mainstream gin producers over the last 15 – 20 years. This movement is aimed at evolving from traditional juniper-based gins to more complex-flavoured, botanical versions, due to the rise of a new generation of gin drinkers who dislike overt notes of juniper and also to the rapid rise of craft cocktails. This artistic licence is, of course, always underscored by juniper, which is the prerequisite dominant ingredient that defines gin.

3 The shoulders of the Tanqueray No. TEN bottle resemble sliced citrus fruit, with 10 facets that run down its length to form a citrus squeezer shape in the kick-up at the base of the bottle.

4 While many gins are made using the multiple-shot distilling method – in which the gin is first produced in concentrated form and then diluted with neutral spirit and water to bring the botanical intensity back in line – Tanqueray No. TEN (and its brother and sister varietals) is made by “one shot” distillation, meaning it comes out of the potstill at the intended strength.

5 Popular belief has it that Tanqueray No. TEN is named after the number of botanicals in its recipe, but this is not the case. The gin is named after the distillery’s small, copper No. 10 potstill – affectionately named Tiny Ten – that’s used to produce it.

6 In contrast to the bigger potstills at the brand’s distillery, Tiny Ten is heated by a steam jacket, as opposed to steam coils. This fact, along with Tiny Ten’s smaller size, means that Tanqueray No. TEN started as small-batch gin long before the onset of the craft gin movement!

7 There are eight botanicals in Tanqueray No. TEN, namely juniper, coriander, angelica root, liquorice, fresh white grapefruit, fresh lime, fresh orange and chamomile flowers.

8 Tanqueray No. TEN’s bottle underwent a redesign in 2014, which saw its formerly imposing, dark green glass take on a lighter hue “to let the citrus shine,” says Graham Shearsby, chief creative officer of Design Bridge, the UK-based brand design agency that created the bottle’s fresh look.

9 Along with fresh citrus playing a key part in the new Tanqueray No. TEN bottle, Design Bridge strongly evoked the sleek and bold, geometric designs of the Roaring Twenties’ Art Deco period and Jazz Age, which influenced everything from architecture to cocktail shakers.

10 There’s nowhere for gin to hide in a martini, due to the simplicity of this cocktail. Thus, with its bold but balanced and traditional yet craft appeal, Tanqueray No. TEN is preferred by many bartenders the world over for making this classic cocktail.

AVAILABLE AT SELECT ONLINE AND LIQUOR STORES FOR THE RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE OF R400.