Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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Bombay Sapphire is the only leading gin brand to have seen increased sales last year, up 1.3%, to 810,000 9-liter cases. bartenders as they rediscover its flexibility,” he said. The answer might differ, too, if you ask bartenders compared to off- premise retailers. As the saying goes among spirits suppliers, “Brands are built on-premise.” “According to a recent MSS Bartender Survey, bar- tenders are saying the two hottest spirit categories are Irish whiskey and gin,” said Richard McLeod, brand manager for Bombay Sapphire. “People really look to bartenders Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin remains the top-selling gin in the U.S., with sales of just over 2.5 million 9-liter cases. The Colorful History of Gin —Gin started out as a — According to the book, medicine. People believed juniper berries had medicinal properties as early as the 11th century. The word “gin” comes from the Dutch word for juniper. A Dutch doctor named Franciscus Sylvius is often cited as gin’s inventor. In the 17th century, his gin was sold in pharmacies as a treatment for a range of symptoms. — When British troops fought against the Spanish in the Eighty Years’ War or the Dutch War of Independence, they were introduced to gin and gave it its first nickname, “Dutch courage,” because soldiers drank it before going into battle. — When William of Orange, the Protestant Dutch leader, and his wife, Mary, became King William and Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, they brought gin with them. They actively encouraged the British people to drink gin rather than the brandy they had been importing from Catholic wine- making countries. The Much-Lamented Death of Madame Geneva: The 18th Century Gin Craze, by Patrick Dillon, when the British government allowed the unlicensed produc- tion of gin, the spirit became very cheap and wildly popular, sparking a period of history known as “Gin Madness.” One estimate has it that by the early 1700s, a quarter of all the households in London were either making or selling gin. This is when the term “gin joint” was invented. — The Gin & Tonic, still the most popular way to consume gin, was born when British colonists in tropical areas such as India and Africa took a daily dose of quinine to prevent malaria. The anti-malarial effect of quinine was first recognized in the 17th century and quinine remained the most effective anti-malarial right up until the 1940s. The tonic water the colonists imbibed contained a large amount of quinine, as opposed to the very small amount used to flavor tonic waters today. Gin masked the very bitter taste. — There are many different stories about how the Martini was invented. Drinks by that name started appearing in bartending books by the late 1800s. One of the most colorful stories of the Martini’s creation has it that a California Gold Rush miner came into a saloon in Martinez, CA, placed a large gold nugget on the bar and asked for something special. — During Prohibition in America in the 1930s, bootleggers discovered that they could easily make a cheap version of gin. Basically, grain alcohol was mixed with flavorings including juniper, in whatever large vat was avail- able, such as a bathtub. Many classic cocktails may have originated at this time to mask the flavor of this “bathtub gin.” — Gin remained the most popular spirit type in the United States from Prohibition until the 1960s, when vodka began its rise in popularity. to be their guides, they take note of cocktail lists,” said Clare Kanter, brand director for the Seagram’s, Beefeater and Plymouth brands at Pernod- Ricard. “They look to see what brands bars and restaurants are featuring and take that into the off-premise.” According to the latest figures, from The Handbook Advance 2011, the gin cat- egory as a whole declined by 2.9%, with the largest, leading brands – Seagram’s, Tanqueray, New Amsterdam – register- ing slight declines or staying flat. Bombay Sapphire, the number-four Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • July/August 2011 • 41