Stateways

StateWays - July/August 2015

StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions

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31 StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ July/August 2015 and pristine spring water drawn from the surrounding boreal forest. So if you're looking for a singular gin experience, Celt- ic-borne Caorunn is just the ticket. The brand is distilled in small batches by famed whisky pro- ducer, Balmenach Distillery. There, gin master Simon Buley assembles a botanical blend featuring six traditional botani- cals—juniper, orange peels, corian- der seeds, cassia bark, angelica root, lemon peels—and fi ve native to the Speyside. "Caorunn is Gaelic for "rowan berry," which thrives on the hills and rocky, peaty soil of the Speyside and adds notes of bitterness to the fl avor profi le," says Caorunn Global Brand Manager Ibolya Bakos-Tonner. "The botanical blend also includes coul blush apple, dandelion, bog myrtle and Scottish heather. The combi- nation of these fi ve ingredients, in addition to the six traditional botan- icals, work in harmony to create the balanced and delicate fruit and fl oral notes that defi ne Caorunn." Another innovative brand—Brockmans Premium Gin—contains botanicals not normally found in a London Dry Gin. Produced in small batches, Brockmans is made on a foundation of contin- uously distilled, neutral grain spirits. The all-important botanical mix includes—among others—coriander, angelica, orange peels and juniper berries from Tuscany. The botanicals are steeped in the pure grain spirits for 24 hours prior to it being batch distilled in a copper alembic still that's well over 100 years old. And there's a creative twist. After the second distillation, the spirits are infused with wild mountain blueberries and blackber- ries from northern Europe. The fruit imbues Brockmans and smoothness uncommon in distilled spirits. "In Brockmans you get less of the pine and lavender nose as we let other tastes come to the forefront," says Bob Fowkes, co-founder and director of Brockmans Gin. "Our fl oral notes are quite unique in that we use blueberries and blackberries from Northern Europe as our top notes combined with the corian- der from Bulgaria and orange and lemon peel from Murcia in Spain. The coriander imparts a tangy/ sage fl avor whilst the citrus pro- vides sharpness and refreshment. The overall effect is an intensely smooth gin that appeals more broadly to emerging gin consum- ers who may have rejected the ju- niper-led style of gins in the past." If your batteries are run- ning low, treat yourself to a dram of artisanal Uncle Val's Peppered Gin. The gin is infused with four highly distinctive botanicals—juniper ber- ries, roasted red bell peppers, black peppercorns and pimentos, which are also referred to as cherry peppers. The brand's range also includes Uncle Val's Restorative Gin, which is crafted in the same manner as American compounded gins, a traditional style of gin at the height of popularity leading up to Prohibition. The botanicals used to fl avor and aroma- tize compounded gins are infused into neutral grain spirits after distillation, whereas with a conventional London Dry Gin, the botanicals are introduced during distillation. The original—Uncle Val's Botanical Gin—is a classically struc- LEADING BRANDS OF GIN (Thousands 9-Liter Cases) 12/13 Brand Supplier 2013 2014 % Chg Seagram's Gin Pernod Ricard USA 2,118 1,941 -8.4% Tanqueray Diageo 1,290 1,310 1.6% Bombay Sapphire Bacardi USA 877 883 0.6% New Amsterdam E & J Gallo 730 730 0.0% Gordon's Gin Diageo 680 630 -7.4% Beefeater Pernod Ricard USA 509 494 -2.9% Barton Gin Sazerac 370 374 1.1% Gilbey's Gin Beam Suntory 368 352 -4.3% Burnett's White Satin Gin Heaven Hill Brands 275 296 7.6% Fleischmann's Gin Sazerac 272 269 -1.1% Total Leading Brands 7,489 7,279 -2.8% Others 3,146 3,136 -0.3% Total Gin 10,635 10,415 -2.1% (p) Preliminary. Source: Handbook Advance 2015. www.bevinfostore.com Every great gin must possess a singularly appealing quality that makes it stand out from the crowd GIN

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