There are streets that seep into the spirits born upon them, and Portobello Road is one such thoroughfare. Long before the craft gin revival turned every railway arch into a micro-distillery, this stretch of West London was already steeped in commerce, character, and a certain romantic dishevelment — antique dealers rubbing shoulders with spice merchants, the air carrying notes of old leather and distant citrus. It is fitting, then, that Portobello Road No. 171 London Dry Gin takes its name and its number from this very address, distilled at The Distillery on Portobello Road itself, a place where the act of making gin feels less like manufacturing and more like storytelling.
A London Dry With Classical Bones
No. 171 is an unashamedly traditional London Dry, and I mean that as high praise. At 42% ABV, it sits at a strength that gives the botanicals room to speak without shouting. The recipe reads like a masterclass in classical gin construction: juniper leads, as it must, supported by the warm earthiness of coriander seed and the quiet backbone of angelica and orris root. Cassia bark and nutmeg lend a gentle spice architecture, while lemon peel and orange peel provide the citrus brightness that lifts the entire composition. A whisper of liquorice root rounds the edges, offering a subtle sweetness that never cloys.
What strikes me about this gin is its sense of balance and restraint. In an era when distillers compete to cram ever more exotic botanicals into the still, No. 171 demonstrates that nine well-chosen ingredients, handled with confidence, can produce something genuinely harmonious. Every element has a role; nothing is there for the sake of a label claim. It is the kind of gin that rewards attention — each sip reveals another layer of the conversation between juniper and spice, between citrus and root.
Best Served
Pour this over ice in a copa glass with a quality Indian tonic, a long curl of lemon peel, and perhaps a single cracked juniper berry. It is a gin for a Friday evening on Portobello Road itself — or wherever you happen to be when you want to feel the warmth of a London evening settling around you. At £35, it represents genuine value for a gin of this calibre and pedigree.
Portobello Road No. 171 earns its 8.5 out of 10 not through novelty but through craftsmanship. It is a gin that knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision with quiet authority — a London Dry that honours the tradition while feeling entirely alive.
