There are bottles that simply contain gin, and there are bottles that contain history. This 1970s bottling of Plym Dry Gin by Coates & Co belongs emphatically to the latter category. At 46% ABV, it sits at the fuller end of the Plymouth style — a strength that speaks to an era when Plymouth Gin still carried the robust character that made it the gin of the Royal Navy and the default pour in countless classic cocktail manuals.
A Piece of Plymouth Heritage
Coates & Co's name on the label is significant. The firm was synonymous with Plymouth Gin for generations, and bottles from this period represent a style of production that predates the modern craft revival by decades. This is gin as it was understood in the mid-to-late twentieth century — made to a tradition that valued consistency, softness, and a gentle earthiness that distinguishes Plymouth from the sharper bite of a London Dry.
At this age and provenance, one approaches the bottle with a degree of reverence. The Plymouth designation itself — once a legally protected geographical style — demands a certain balance: less juniper-forward than a London Dry, rounder on the palate, with a subtle sweetness that lends itself beautifully to stirred drinks. A bottle from the 1970s offers a window into how that balance was interpreted half a century ago.
At £150, this is a collector's piece as much as it is a drinking gin, though I would argue that gin of this calibre deserves to be tasted, not merely displayed. Best served in a classic Martini — dry, with a twist of lemon — where the Plymouth style can speak for itself without distraction. A rating of 8 out of 10 reflects both the historical importance and the enduring quality of a bottle that carries real weight in the story of English gin.
