Papa Salt Coastal Gin is one of those bottles that catches your eye before you've even cracked the seal. Marketed with a distinctly coastal identity, this London Dry sits at a confident 42.8% ABV — a touch above the classic 40% floor, which tells me the distiller wanted to preserve some intensity without tipping into navy strength territory. That's a smart choice for a gin that's clearly designed to evoke sea air and sun-warmed botanicals.
Style & Character
As a London Dry, Papa Salt has to play by the rules: juniper-forward, no artificial flavours, nothing added post-distillation. What makes it interesting is the coastal positioning. The best coastal gins I've encountered lean into a certain saline minerality — think samphire, sea kelp, or citrus peels that carry that bright, zesty lift you associate with a seaside terrace. Without confirmed botanicals, I can't say exactly what's driving the character here, but the London Dry classification guarantees that juniper is doing the heavy lifting, with supporting botanicals adding layers of complexity around it.
Best Served
A gin with coastal credentials at this ABV is practically begging to be mixed. My first instinct would be a classic Gin & Tonic with a premium Mediterranean tonic, a wheel of pink grapefruit, and a sprig of fresh rosemary — that herbal-citrus combination tends to amplify any maritime quality beautifully. If you're feeling more adventurous, try it in a White Lady: the lemon juice and dry vermouth will let the juniper backbone shine while the egg white gives it a gorgeous silky texture. At £36.75, it's priced fairly for the category, and at 7.4 out of 10, Papa Salt delivers a solid, well-constructed London Dry that rewards thoughtful serving.
