First Impressions
Griffo Distillery in Petaluma, California — Sonoma County wine country — was awarded America's Greatest London Dry Gin 2025 by the Gin Guild. The gin is five-times distilled in a custom American-made Vendome copper pot still with nine locally sourced botanicals, including Sonoma Meyer lemons — those sweeter, less acidic Californian citrus fruits that have no European equivalent. Russian River Valley water shapes the spirit into what they call 'a bright and citrusy, California take on the traditional English gin'.
Tasting
Nine botanicals including wild-grown juniper, Sonoma Meyer lemons, grains of paradise, and coriander. The nose is clean with a zingy lemon-peppery quality. On the palate, citrusy acidity sets the mouth watering — Meyer lemon is unmistakable, with whispers of rosewater and honeydew melon alongside grains of paradise warmth. Juniper provides structure. The finish is elongated, braced with white pepper, rosewater and melon lingering. Five distillations produce extraordinary clarity.
The Bottom Line
Griffo Scott Street earns an 8 — America's Greatest London Dry is not an empty title. The Sonoma Meyer lemon creates a citrus character unlike any European gin, and the five-times distillation in the Vendome still produces a spirit of remarkable purity. Best in a Martini where the rosewater whispers and melon notes create something genuinely Californian, or a G&T with a slice of fresh Meyer lemon if you can find one. At £40, world-class American gin.
