THe CoCkTail RevoluTion Has

a new
Gineration
The Cocktail Revolution Has
Pushed Gin Front and Center
By Jack Robertiello
H
as gin finally turned the corner?
After years spent watching vodka
and rum become the white spirits
of choice, brand managers and marketers
have wondered what it would take to get consumers once again interested in what can
arguably be called the first flavored spirit.
But as the cocktail revolution unfolded over the last few years and
premiumization of spirits became the dominant trend, the gin folks finally
saw their opening; when the cocktail blossomed in the 1920s, after all, gin
was the go-to liquor. Modern mixologists have rediscovered cocktails like
the Aviation and the Southside, and new gin-based drinks are finding their
way onto beverage menus at bars and restaurants.
So, at least among the high-end brands and some new iterations, gin is
back and growing, with old favorites like Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray and
Beefeater, and smaller brands like Plymouth and Hendrick’s, barking up the
cocktail tree. The success of niche brands like Hendrick’s – with cucumber
and rose petals mixed in with more traditional botanicals like juniper –
has blazed a way for other new-fangled brands, like G’vine, with grape
flowers added to the mix; Whitley Neill,
employing South African cape gooseberry
and baobab; Aviation, made in the full
bodied Dutch style with a touch of lavender and sarsaparilla; and Magellan Gin,
utilizing spices such as cloves, nutmeg, and
cardamom. Recently, even wine behemoth
E&J Gallo has introduced a new premium
domestic gin, New Amsterdam.
According to Shane M. Graber, vice
president, brand managing director for the
House of Bombay, gin may be turning the
corner after years of stagnation. “Overall,
it’s a great time for gin. We’re seeing in
America the phenomenon of consumers
trading up, drinking less but better, and
gravitating to spirits. Not only has that
meant good things for vodka, rum and tequila, but now we’re seeing the beginning
of what we believe is a gin resurgence as
Americans move more toward the classic
cocktail.”
Says Diageo’s Marc Strachan, director of Tanqueray, current consumer trends
are finally on gin’s side. “We believe that
gin is poised to capitalize on consumers’
constant search to discover and rediscover
new experiences. The resurgence of the
classic cocktail, like a gin martini, enables
a brand like Tanqueray to attract new
consumers looking for great cocktails and
great experiences.”
James Monahan, U.S. public relations
director for Martin Miller’s gin, agrees. “A
new style of gin, like Martin Miller’s,
keeping to tradition, has captured the
interest of consumers looking to
trade up; gin has expanded their
palates and enhanced their
image and lifestyle,” he says.
ON-PREMISE SPURS
GROWTH
The on-premise continues to offer opportunities for gins to distinguish themselves,
primarily as cocktail ingredients, says
Charlotte Voisey, brand ambassador for
Hendrick’s. “Restaurants are seeing that
it makes sense to create cocktail lists that,
instead of 10 vodka cocktails, represent all
the spirits, so that there’s now room at a
wide range of restaurants for a couple of
new gin cocktails opening up.”
While category leader Seagram’s and
its brand extensions are generally offpremise focused, the leading imported
super-premiums tend to look to the onpremise for activity.
For the coming year, Tanqueray, which
now promotes three different marques –
Rangpur, No. 10 and London Dry – will
look to drive awareness and trial, says Strachan. “Current marketing activity focuses
on the Tanqueray Style Platform to raise
awareness of Tanqueray’s three variants
and the different occasions for which they
can be enjoyed,” he said. Kicking off in
April, Tanqueray Style Sessions are to be
held in 10 cities, providing music, art and
urban fashion to trendsetting consumers
through the eyes of Tanqueray, supported
heavily online.
For Bombay Sapphire, the coming year
will focus on trade, specifically on-premise
where the brand was built, says Graber.
Bartender education programs, specifically
using the talents of traveling brand and
mixology ambassadors Milo Rodriguez and
James Moreland, will make sure bartenders
are proficient in classic and new gin cocktails. Lots of bartenders are rediscovering
Original Bombay these days, says Graber, but
Sapphire continues to drive major growth for
the brand. On the way is a new ad campaign
called “the Spirit of Exploration,” which
launched in May in U.S., along with more
digital activity.
Bombay has also recently collaborated
with crystal producer Baccarat and the jewelry house Garrard to produce “Revelation,”
a series of five high end crystal gin bottles.
To celebrate the unveiling of these jewel–
studded creations, Bacardi’s global mixologist
Merlin Griffiths has created a special cocktail
to be named after the project. Merlin will be
traveling around the world teaching barmen
and public alike how to create “Revelation”
and other newly mixed Bombay cocktails.
For the classic London gin, Beefeater,
marketers will focus efforts on building brand
awareness through advertising in print and
on-line, and driving trial through an onpremise program called Sharp’ner.
The Sharp’ner program has proven to be
successful for the brand, according to brand
director Michelle Riley. Londoners use the
term for the first drink of the evening, an occasion to meet up with a friend for one drink.
For the Sharp’ner program, the brand will execute 200+ events in six markets – Chicago,
San Francisco, New York, Denver, Broward
County, FL and Boston.
Beefeater is also running a consumer
sweepstakes this spring, called “Find the Yeoman.” The sweepstakes kicked off in March
and offers the winner $25,000 and a Beefeater noble title. On-premise Sharp’ner events
and internet advertising will be used to drive
target consumers to enter.
Premium cocktail
venues are driving
the gin trend, so
automatically the gins
that are interesting to
them have a point of
difference in taste or
originality, which is
very important.
-Peter wijk, brand
director, plymouth gin
Targeted Marketing
Marketers of leading gin Seagram’s, a premium made in the U.S., will focus on its core
African American market, expanding its flavor portfolio with Seagram’s Apple Twisted
Gin last year and Raspberry Twisted this
year, joining lime and orange extensions.
“Flavors have become an integral part
of Seagram’s recruitment strategy to bring
new consumers into the franchise. It gives
the brand a younger appeal and not the old
stodgy ‘that’s your father’s drink’ stigma,”
says Seagram’s global brand director Abegail
Domond.
In the off-premise, programming will focus on brand awareness while focusing onpremise on recruitment and trial. Flavors
and the higher proof Distiller’s Reserve play
a critical role in Seagram’s strategy to recruit
new consumers through promotions and
sampling, she said.
For the seventh year, Seagram’s Urban
Elegance campaign focusing on African
American men will continue, while the
Seagram’s Gin Live Concert series will run
again. New is the Seagram’s Gin Pursuit of
Excellence program, a celebration of African
American male achievement developed to
address rising joblessness and unemployment
among African American men in Atlanta
and Chicago.
Voisey said Hendrick’s will continue
with its small, quirky, Monty Pythonesque
ads placed in magazines like the New Yorker,
and she’ll focus on touring popular markets
like San Francisco and Boston to build brand
awareness and provide on- and off-premise
sampling opportunities.
Martin Miller’s gin focuses on both
on-premise and off-premise marketing, but
Monahan points out that “mixology is key-working with the best of the best established
and up-and-coming mixologists.”Peter Wijk,
brand director for Plymouth Gin, says the
brand will continue aiming its efforts on
bartender activities, using brand ambassador
Simon Ford to spread the word. “Our focus
is absolutely on the on-premise; it’s crucial
for any small brand to build the preference
there and get the endorsement from mixologists. Premium cocktail venues are driving
the gin trend, so automatically the gins that
are interesting to them have a point of difference in taste or originality, which is very
important,” he says.
While Plymouth invests very little from
a consumer marketing perspective, they employ their “hot house” program, selecting
neighborhoods in strong markets like San
Francisco, Boston and New York where bars
might already feature gin drinks, supporting them through training, working hand in
hand with each bar to provide advice and
support
Though its recently reintroduced sloe
gin is expected to appeal only to cocktail
geeks, it’s a sign of Plymouth’s connection
with star bartenders, who have been pushing
the brand to return the legendary sloe gin to
the U.S. market. “We said, ‘Okay, they support us, let’s show them that we really support them as well.”
And Wijk, like other brand folks, points
out that with bartenders using their products, gin marketers have developed a fan base
which is then educating the younger consumers for whom gin is pretty much a mystery. Now when those consumers consider
what spirit to buy for home entertaining, gin
is once again in the retail mix as well. n
A Taste of Several Gins with
plenty of Built in Flavor
Plymouth English Gin
(England);
41.2% abv
There’s a light, fresh and floral
opening to Plymouth, promising a
coming softness; it’s got a juniper
backbone, but balanced with its
other six botanicals – citrus, orris,
coriander, and cardamom, specifically. On the palate, it’s distinctly
softer than the other gins, no
doubt a result of the quality of
the water used in production in Devon,
England. Creamy, rich and inviting in the
mouth, and finishes crisp and balanced.
Bombay Sapphire
London Dry Gin
(England); 47% abv
Restrained in style and less junipery than almost any gin imported from England, Bombay
Sapphire emphasizes the other
botanicals like orris root, grains
of paradise, and cubeb berries
(Sapphire employs a total of ten
botanicals overall in a vapor distillation method) on the nose, it
shows a subtle gin. There’s a bit
of citric zip, and a slight cleansing
bitterness on the palate, but this is a gin for
those who don’t like assertive juniper.
Bombay Original Dry Gin
(England); 43% abv
Unlike its more popular sibling, Bombay
shows its juniper up front, along with
some lemony richness, coriander and orris
root. Peppery, zesty and mildly citrusy in
the mouth, there’s also a touch of sweetness along with moderate juniper. This gin
finishes lively, clean and spicy.
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Beefeater London
Dry Gin (England);
47% abv
At the other end of the juniper spectrum
is Beefeater, with its pungent and assertive
style, and a great juniper and licorice zip. On
the palate, it’s clean and brisk
with coriander and black pepper
notes. Very long and with a tingly finish, this is the classic gin
for old style gin and tonic drinkers, and can stand up to lime
and other flavors well.
Hendrick’s Gin
(Scotland);
44% abv
The difference in Hendrick’s, beside its
Scottish origins, is the addition of cucumber
and rose petals to the botanical mix. The
result is a more floral opening, with a hint
of vegetation; in the mouth, the bitter burst
of cucumber peel emerges, while the flower’s
essence persists. Citrus and juniper are evident as well. Promoted as “not for everyone,”
Hendrick’s is positioned for cocktail experimentation.
Tanqueray London
Dry Gin (England);
47.3% abv
The aroma of this classic gin opens with
a piney freshness, and is joined by orange
blossom, anise and some lean minerality. In
the mouth there’s a cleansing richness, with
notes of grapefruit, sappy juniper, black pepper and a vibrant, long and cleansing finish.
Tangy and well-balanced; this is a real juniper gin.
Tanqueray No. Ten Batch
Distilled Gin
(England);
47.3% abv
Citrus and juniper dominate
the opening of this gin, with
touches of grapefruit emerging
through the alcohol heat. In
the mouth, it’s subtler than expected, but a broad citrus palate emerges, along with some
earthy notes of cinnamon and
angelica. Powerful but rich,
assertive but balanced, with a
distinct peppery finish.