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.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/658171
28 Beverage Dynamics • March/April 2016 www.beveragedynamics.com "TEN YEARS AGO, IF YOU MENTIONED 'BOTANICALS,' people would have thought you were talking about gardening," quips Bob Fowkes, co-founder of Brockmans Gin. "That's changed; consumers know a lot more about gin - how botani- cals differentiate styles, especially among the early adopters in big cities." Indeed, interest in the gin category has grown immensely over the last decade, riding the coattails of the cocktail revolution. Many of the classics are gin-based, and intrepid mixologists have taken to the highly aromatic and fl avorful white spirit, designing a new wave of gin cocktails. Producers big and small have responded by releasing a plethora of new expressions and styles with a potpourri of botanicals. However, much of this action has been tilted towards bar and restaurant business without much of a corresponding lift in the off-premise trade—yet, anyway. Brands are helping to increase the fl ow from on- to off-premise with consumer and trade education, simple recipes, merchandising tools and even suggestions for retailers to bump up gin sales in the off-premise channel. COCKTAIL STAR "Perhaps more than any spirit, gin has enjoyed newfound attention as a result of the classic cocktail resurgence," says Rachel Ford, Diageo's national gin ambassador. The company's portfolio includes Tanqueray, a classic London dry style, and Tanqueray No. TEN, which is a citrus-forward gin made with macerated fruit and features juniper, coriander and a hint of chamomile fl owers. Last summer, the company launched Tan- queray Bloomsbury, a limited-edition release inspired by an original recipe dating back to 1880. A juniper-forward London Dry Gin using Tuscan juniper, Tanqueray Blooms- bury also incorporates coriander, angelica, winter savory and cassia bark. "Gin is well-suited to the craft cocktail movement. There is such a large palate of fl avors for mixologists to play with, from all the different botanical infusions," says August Sebastiani, president of 3 Badge Mixology, whose portfolio includes Uncle Val's Gin. The original gin features an infusion of juniper, cucumber, lemon, sage and lavender. Recently, the com- pany introduced two more expressions: Restorative, a new American style with more savory notes than sweetness; and Peppered, which adds red bell pepper, black pepper and pimento to the juniper. TRADING UP Compared to behemoths whiskey and vodka, gin is a small category at just 9.9 million 9-liter cases in 2015, according to the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS). Volume for the gin category was slightly down last year (1.8%); but this was due to a drop in the value segment, while the su- perpremium end soared 37.8%. Supplier revenues showed a similar pattern, with the category dropping 1.0% while super- premium sales were up 38.5%. "There is a tectonic shift in the gin category away from the lower-priced, traditional brands toward premium brands - some craft brands in particular," comments Thomas Moony, CEO of House Spirits Distillery and president of the Craft Spirits Association. Moony calls his Aviation Gin "an American Cocktail Style;" the dry gin has notes of lavender, cardamom and sarsaparilla (House also recently produced a limited-release bar- rel-aged Old Tom Gin). "If you look not at volume but at new dollars coming into the category," Moony explains, "there are a handful of brands driving growth," cit- ing Aviation, St. George, Hendricks, Beef- eater, Tanqueray and Bombay among others. "What do those brands have in common? All have had a lot of on-prem- ise success that is starting to spill over into the off-premise." ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN Many gin brands - large and small, es- tablished and new - are focusing much of their efforts into getting trial on-prem- ise. Those endeavors, the thinking goes, will eventually translate into off-premise purchases. TONIC FOR THE TRADE BY THOMAS HENRY STRENK