London Mate Dry

Yerba mate, grown in the subtropical north of Argentina and drunk for centuries as part of the South American mate tradition, is the signature of London Mate Dry GinDry ginGin with no perceptible sweetness: in the European Union, the word "dry" allows at most 0.1 g of sugar per litre.GlossarySee Dry gin gins. Its creator, Aníbal Torres, is a London-based mate enthusiast with Argentine heritage who founded Torre London to bring those roots together with London distilling.

Citrus · Dry · Herbal · Earthy

The gin is distilled in London on a personalised Arnold Holstein copper pot stillPot stillA traditional still, often copper, that distils in batches. It keeps more texture and character than a column.Glossary named Rosa, in honour of the founder's late mother. The recipe combines yerba mate, juniper and eight further botanicals, ten in all, and the bottling strength is 40% ABV. Mate itself is traditionally drunk from a gourd through a metal straw called a bombilla. The label carries a red Routemaster double-decker bus by the London-based artist Jeremy Dickinson, a simple image of the city where the gin is made.

Yerba mate brings what the distillery calls a distinctive bitter elegance. The leaf is naturally rich in caffeine and tannins, which explains its gently astringent, tea-like character; in the gin, juniper frames that bitterness and keeps it dry. Judges at the London Spirits Competition 2026, where the gin won Silver with 87 points, described a light and clear gin with gentle juniper and citrus aromas, a floral, slightly grassy palate and a dry, well-balanced finish.

In 2026, The Gin Guide Awards handed it a Bronze in the Contemporary GinContemporary ginAlso called New Western: juniper is still there, but other botanicals (citrus, flowers, spice) take the lead.GlossarySee Contemporary gin gins category up to 42% ABV, after a Silver at Gin Masters Asia in 2024 and a Master medal at the Global Gin Masters in 2025. Lengthened with a light tonicLight tonicA low- or no-sugar tonic, often sweetened with substitutes. Drier, it brings out the bitterness and the gin.Glossary, the gin shows its grassy notes, while a sliver of lemon peel lifts the citrus on the nose. A few dried mate leaves, if you have them, make a fitting nod to the leaf that defines the recipe.