Booth's is one of the oldest names in gin, a brand whose heritage stretches back centuries and whose contribution to the London Dry style cannot be overstated. To hold a bottle from the 1970s is to hold a piece of that history — a snapshot of how gin was made, marketed, and enjoyed in an era before the craft revolution rewrote the rules.
A London Dry of Its Era
This 1970s bottling of Booth's Dry Gin sits at 40% ABV, the standard strength for a London Dry of this period. Booth's would have been a staple of countless British cocktail cabinets, a workhorse gin built for reliability rather than spectacle. The brand's reputation was founded on clean, juniper-forward distillation — the kind of no-nonsense spirit that defined the category for generations.
While the precise botanical bill and distillery details for this particular bottling remain unconfirmed, Booth's historically favoured a classical London Dry profile. One would expect a juniper-led backbone with restrained citrus and perhaps a whisper of coriander and angelica — the quiet architecture of a well-made gin rather than anything that shouts for attention.
Collectability and Value
At £225, this is squarely a collector's bottle. Its value lies not in mixing but in provenance. For those who appreciate the lineage of London Dry gin, a bottle like this offers a tangible connection to the category's mid-century identity. I would rate this 7.8 out of 10 — a fair reflection of its historical significance and the quality Booth's consistently delivered, tempered by the reality that time and storage are unkind to spirits once opened.
Best served: If you do choose to open it, a simple G&T with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic and a twist of lemon peel would honour the gin's heritage without masking it.
