Sometimes a tasting day unfolds like a serendipitous plot twist. A brief stop at the Cornwall Road LCBO in Oakville unveiled an English gin of such refined poise that it stood admirably on its own in a neat pour. Days later, a delivered bottle arrived with playful flair—boxed with a pink ribbon, with a pink bow around its neck. Two gins, worlds apart in vibe, yet both captivating for Valentine’s Day: one cool and composed, the other vibrant and feline in spirit.

Joie de Vivre Pink Gin — Ontario ($50.30)
Playful Energy in Rose

A sexy newcomer to LCBO shelves (and available online) is Joie de Vivre Pink Gin.

It is the baby of Ontario’s Tory Hines, who is working with a local Ontario distiller (she’s not sharing the name just yet). “I always loved rosé, but my fiancé, Grant, introduced me to the fascinating world of colourful gin, and I quickly fell for his charm and the gin, especially the bold, beautiful varieties from his home in South Africa,” Tory shares online. “I started dreaming up a version that felt more feminine: playful, pretty and full of personality—something you’d bring to a picnic, a girls’ night or a beach day, and after one sip, you’d do a little happy dance. It absolutely had to be pink. Not red, not purple—a perfectly pastel pink when poured.

“So I dove in,” Hines continues. “I wrote the business plan, built the brand vision, asked for advice, leaned on my loved ones, and followed the spark. I tapped into everything I’d learned from years in marketing across fashion, beauty, film, even healthcare, and fully embraced the ‘research’ phase: laughing on the couch with Grant, taste-testing gins from around the world—and calling every one a business expense.”

The fruits of her labours burst with the zest its name evokes—a lively, aromatic charmer perfect for festive pours. It reveals a generous bouquet of wild berries, pink peppercorn, citrus zest, floral whispers and distinct notes from its botanical ingredients: juniper (pine wood), angelica root (woody, spicy) and orris root (a powdery violet).

The subtle tartness of the berry infusion makes it, by my tastebuds, less of a match for classic gin and tonic (with the tonic’s bite clashing more than complementing), but ideal for creative cocktails, like the Joie French 75 (with prosecco, simple syrup and lemon juice) or Blush Royale (with a splash of soda or sparkling rosé, a dash of elderflower liqueur, and a puff of pink cotton candy). Its orange peel tang on the palate also begs for an orange juice connection of some sort.

Wrapped in that signature pink ribbon, it’s a Valentine’s showstopper: gift-ready, and unapologetically fun.

Ramsbury Gin — England ($49.95)
Bondian Poise, Neatly Sipped

In stark contrast to Joie to Vivre stands Ramsbury Gin, encountered briefly (yet memorably) at the Oakville LCBO tasting bar late last month. Distilled from estate winter wheat and chalk-stream water in Wiltshire, England, its “grain-to-glass” craft yields aromas of juniper, quince and citrus peel. Classic yet graceful, the palate offers as silky a mouthfeel as I’ve encountered in gins, flowing to a fine, lasting finish: long, balanced and warming.

Elegant enough to sip neat—a nod to how premium gins now rival whisky in contemplative appeal—Ramsbury feels coolly confident in its polish and restraint. And it has the résumé to back it up: double gold at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, golds at the 2024 International Spirits Challenge and London Spirits Competition, and Gin of the Year and Spirit of the Year (United Kingdom) at the 2025 London Spirits Competition.

If Joie de Vivre is adorned in a sexy red dress and a bow in its hair, the sophisticated Ramsbury comes sporting a tailored suit. Distinct characters, but together—or alone—they’d make for worthy dinner company at your Valentine’s dinner table.