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 Gin. 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.

The gin is distilled in London on a personalised Arnold Holstein copper pot still 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 Gin 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 tonic, 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.