Which gin would you give as a gift?

A 70 cl bottle is the standard size, 50 cl is common at smaller distilleries, and 15 to 35 cl works for letting someone taste.

For someone who already knows what they drink, 70 cl is the logical choice. For someone who is still exploring, two or three small bottles are more practical than one large one: that way there is no half-full bottle left standing that the recipient has no use for.

Larger sizes than 70 cl exist too, but those take up cupboard space and call for a firm preference. If you are unsure, small and several bottles is the safer choice than large and one.

Look at the category on the label, because it says the most about how the bottle was made and what it is intended for.

London gin is the classic, dry line: distilled to at least 70 percent, not coloured and nothing added except water. That is the safe choice for someone who drinks gin and tonic. Distilled gin gives the distiller more room, because the botanicals are distilled along but the rules are otherwise looser. Ordinary gin may also be made with flavourings, as long as juniper predominates.

If all you know is that someone drinks gin and nothing else, a London gin at around 40 percent is the choice that involves the fewest assumptions.

The word dry on a gin bottle means that no more than 0.1 gram of sweeteners per litre has been added, expressed as invert sugar.

London gin has that limit built in and moreover may not be coloured. Distilled gin means that the juniper berries have been distilled along with it; gin made only by adding essences to alcohol may not call itself distilled gin.

The number of botanicals is often printed large on the label, but is regulated nowhere and says nothing in itself. The first-named plant after the juniper berry says more: it predicts whether the bottle leans towards citrus, herbs or resin.

Three small bottles of 15 to 35 cl, each from a different category or with a different main botanical, give someone something to set side by side.

A workable split: one London gin as a benchmark, one distilled gin with a pronounced herbal note, and one with citrus up front. Three is enough; with five or six bottles, comparing becomes a chore instead of a pleasure.

Include a card listing, for each bottle, the alcohol percentage, the category and the first-named botanical. Leave the choice of tonic or mixer to the recipient; that is exactly the part people enjoy doing themselves.

Alcoholic drinks may not be supplied to anyone who has not been verified as being 18, not even as a gift.

Artikel 20 van de Alcoholwet verbiedt bedrijfsmatig of anders dan om niet verstrekken aan een persoon van wie niet is vastgesteld dat deze de leeftijd van 18 jaar heeft bereikt. Anders dan om niet betekent: ook gratis weggeven valt eronder. De NIX18-campagne van het ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport vat het samen als: niet kopen, niet krijgen, niet drinken.

Also check whether the person drinks alcohol before you give a bottle. A closed bottle of gin stays good for years if it is kept upright and in the dark, so there is no rush.