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

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.

THe CoCkTail RevoluTion Has PusHed Gin FRonT and CenTeRBy Jack Robertiello

Ginerationa new

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 lav-ender 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 te-quila, 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, direc-tor 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 GRoWTHThe on-premise continues to offer oppor-tunities 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 off-premise focused, the leading imported super-premiums tend to look to the on-premise 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 Stra-chan. “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 cock-tails. 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 jew-elry 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 on-premise 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 oc-casion to meet up with a friend for one drink. For the Sharp’ner program, the brand will ex-ecute 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 Yeo-man.” The sweepstakes kicked off in March and offers the winner $25,000 and a Beefeat-er noble title. On-premise Sharp’ner events and internet advertising will be used to drive target consumers to enter.

TaRGeTed MaRkeTinG Marketers of leading gin Seagram’s, a pre-mium made in the U.S., will focus on its core African American market, expanding its fla-vor 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 fo-cus on brand awareness while focusing on-premise 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 mixolo-gists. Premium cocktail venues are driving the gin trend, so automatically the gins that are interesting to them have a point of dif-ference in taste or originality, which is very important,” he says.

While Plymouth invests very little from a consumer marketing perspective, they em-ploy their “hot house” program, selecting neighborhoods in strong markets like San Francisco, Boston and New York where bars might already feature gin drinks, support-ing 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 sup-port us, let’s show them that we really sup-port them as well.”

And Wijk, like other brand folks, points out that with bartenders using their prod-ucts, gin marketers have developed a fan base which is then educating the younger con-sumers for whom gin is pretty much a mys-tery. Now when those consumers consider what spirit to buy for home entertaining, gin is once again in the retail mix as well. n

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

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PlyMouTH enGlisH Gin (enGland); 41.2% abvThere’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, specifi-cally. 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% abvRestrained in style and less ju-nipery than almost any gin im-ported 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 dis-tillation 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% abvUnlike 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 sweet-ness along with moderate juniper. This gin finishes lively, clean and spicy.

beeFeaTeR london dRy Gin (enGland); 47% abvAt 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 tin-gly finish, this is the classic gin for old style gin and tonic drink-ers, and can stand up to lime and other flavors well.

HendRiCk’s Gin (sCoTland); 44% abvThe 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 evi-dent as well. Promoted as “not for everyone,” Hendrick’s is positioned for cocktail experi-mentation.

TanqueRay london dRy Gin (enGland); 47.3% abvThe 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 pep-per and a vibrant, long and cleansing finish. Tangy and well-balanced; this is a real juni-per gin.

TanqueRay no. Ten baTCH disTilled Gin (enGland); 47.3% abvCitrus and juniper dominate the opening of this gin, with touches of grapefruit emerging through the alcohol heat. In the mouth, it’s subtler than ex-pected, but a broad citrus pal-ate emerges, along with some earthy notes of cinnamon and angelica. Powerful but rich, assertive but balanced, with a distinct peppery finish.

a TasTe oF seveRal Gins WiTH PlenTy oF builT in FlavoR