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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35 StateWays Q www.stateways.com Q July/August 2014 proof batches. The range also includes the popular line of fruit-infused Twisted Gin, the latest of which is Red Berry. Still, according to Bill Eldien, president and CEO, Nolet Spirits U.S.A., "Imported gins in particular continue to gain traction and experience the largest growth within the gin category. We see talented mixologists leading the charge behind beverage programming as a driving force behind gin's resurgence." The infl ux of new imports as well as American crafted distilled gins has contributed greatly to the category's activity. "The rise of local and artisan gins have given the whole category a serious jolt of creativity and energy," says Tom Potter, partner and co-founder of New York Distilling Company, which makes Chief Gowanus New- Netherland Gin, a recreation of an 1809 New York distiller's manual recipe. Still, it's only fi tting to begin our overview with the brands that comprise the heart and soul of the gin category. They hail from England, the country where the spirit made its popular debut. The Royals • Beefeater London Dry Gin — This iconic brand is made in the same manner and according to the family-held recipe fi rst devised by pharmacist James Burrough in 1820. It is exquisitely dry with a fl oral and spicy bouquet and a layered, long-lasting palate. Bottled at 94-proof, Beefeater has the well-deserved reputation as the driest of the London gins. Beefeater 24 • Beefeater 24 — Created by renowned master distiller, Desmond Payne, Beefeater 24 is distilled with a unique blend of 12 hand- selected botanicals, an aromatic mix that features Seville oranges, grapefruit peels and Chinese green and Japanese sencha teas. It is bottled at 90 proof. • Bombay Sapphire — The fi rst superpremium gin in the U.S, Bombay Sapphire, 94 proof, is double-distilled in a series of Carter Head stills. The copper alembic stills are designed such that the spirit's rising vapors in the neck pass through a basket-like device holding the 10 botanicals. The aromatic mix includes fragrant herbs, spices, roots, fruit and juniper berries from Italy. • Boodles British Gin — Created in 1847, the venerable London dry gin is made by Chivas Brothers at the Strathisla Distillery, Scotland's oldest continuously operating distillery. The gin, 90.4 proof, is made in a vacuum still, which functions under extreme pressure allowing the alcohol to evaporate at a lower temperature. Its mix of botanicals includes coriander, sage, cassia bark, nutmeg, rosemary, caraway, angelica root and juniper berries. • Hendrick's Gin — Self-described as the "world's most peculiar gin," 88-proof Hendrick's is made in Scotland from a blend of small batch spirits produced in two types of stills, each of which produce distinctively different styles of spirits. Particularly unusual is the gin's botanical mix that includes rose petals and cucumber. • Plymouth Dry Gin — Plymouth Gin, 82 proof, continues to be made where it originated over 200 years ago, at England's oldest, continuously operating distillery, the Black Friars Distillery. The venerable brand is distilled in a large copper alembic still using pure grain spirits, soft spring water and an infusion of seven hand-selected botanicals. • Tanqueray — Top-selling Tanqueray, 94.6 proof, is distilled at Finsbury, England, which is famous for its pure, health-rejuvenating waters. The successful franchise also includes Tanqueray Rangpur. During its fi nal distillation the gin is passed through a botanical mix of bay leaf, ginger and rangpur peels, a lemon and mandarin orange hybrid with a pronounced lime fl avor. Seagram's Red Berry Twisted Gin Beefeater London Dry Gin Beefeater 24 Gin Hendrick's Gin Bombay Sapphire Gin Plymouth Dry Gin