"I exercise extreme self control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast." W.C. Fields

There are three traditional types of gin, and a newly emerged fourth type:

• London Dry Gin, the most common
• Plymouth Gin
• Genever or Amsterdam Gin
• New American Craft Gins: see Artisanal Gins made in New England

Gin is one of the ultimate artisanal products; the base alcohol is pretty much the same for everyone, and you have to have juniper, so you have a limited palette with which to work your masterpiece. Yet some are floral, some are piney, some are spicy, etc. Some are better in a Martini than others. For a great introduction to the wide world of gin, you cannot do better than the excellent TheGinIsIn blog, or the encyclopedic Gin by Aaron Knoll, writer of that worthy blog.