Skip to main content

Innovation in the spirit business: Is it innovative to bring a gin with some slightly different botanicals on the market?

The rant is going on! This time: Gin.

There are definitely quite a lot of great gins on the market. And if you ask me, these are mostly the ones, which are carried by more than 45% alcohol.

As gin is literally in all mouths, the spirit industry continues to push more new gins out. But I am questioning the reason.

Yes - a very specialized bar could taste every single gin cocktail with different gins and decide, which gin to use. However lets be honest, with business on one hand in mind and marketing on the other hand, most bar owners, managers and bartenders will settle either way on their pouring gin or on a gin, which finds quite some recognition under the customers.

So the question remains - how many gins do you really need in a bar.
If you see it pragmatic here the result:

  • Standard [London Dry] gin - usually around 40%.
    • This is your Gordon's, yes your "normal" 40% abv Bombay Sapphire, your Beefeater and maybe also your Plymouth. Yes I know, Plymouth is not a London Dry - but it really taste and behave like one…
      • Actually you need this gins, if you like to keep your beverage cost low, and if you have some very price conscious guests. In a great bar, I would directly go to a "proper" gin.
  • Good quality gin / deluxe / premium if you wish...
    • This would be your Tanqueray classic, Bombay Sapphire 47%, maybe Hendrick's and locavore gins, which might not be considered as premium/super premium.
      • This gin is either way stage 1 of your up selling gins or your pouring, if you are having discerning guests [with taste].
  • Premium / super premium gin / specialized gins
    •  Some gins like Tanqueray ten, Saffron gin, Junipero, Plymouth navy strength, Gin Mare
      • This would be your stage 1 up selling gin, in a very quality driven bar or your stage 2 gin, in a rather normal bar. Also it can be used for specialty cocktails, which are really focussing on the specific quality / character.
  • Old Tom
    • I believe, that the big craze of Old Tom is over, but it is always nice to have this "living fossil" in your selection [great for few cocktails]
      • Truth has to be told: you are able to do a "fake Old Tom gin" with some drops of orange flower water. some rather light single malt [or you could use oude jenever] and some sugar. 
  • Genever
    • You really don't need it, unless you are living in Holland
So in reality you need 2 maximum 3 different gins in your bar.

And this makes the whole "innovation" in the gin market so pathetic! Instead of doing something outstanding and different, the companies are making the same old London dry. Boring. 
Yes the character is different - but these are most of the times nuances. It is not eye widening.
Even worse - the companies [most of them multinational spirit companies, who learned too well out of the vodka market] balancing their lack of risk taking and real innovation with great marketing effort, to advertise the new product.

To be honest - I don't want to taste another gin, which is just nuances different than any other gin. I want to taste a leap. A gin which dominates and which is controversial. A gin like e.g. Junipero - which doesn't take prisoners. Not a gin like Bombay Sapphire East, which just throws pepper and lemongrass into their proven recipe [and even is also sold at 40% abv].



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to use citric acid - and why you might not want to use it anyway!

To be honest, I shied away of this topic, because I think, people can misinterpret this - big time. I don't want to be part of the problem - I want to be part of the solution!  But when Chris, over at A Bar Above  discussed this subject- I literally could not resist to join into "the discussion". Here is the video: I - however take a bit slower approach than Chris. What is citric acid? Chemical Compound Citric acid is a weak organic acid with the formula C6H8O7. It is a natural preservative/conservative and is also used to add an acidic or sour taste to foods and drinks. Wikipedia Formula: C6H8O7 Molar Mass: 192.124 g/mol Melting Point: 153C Density: 1.66 g/cm3 Boiling point: 175C Soluble in: Water Why is it controversial? In my "mixology world" it is controversial, as citric acid is the stuff, which makes the nightmarish sour mix [ preferably in powder form ] sour. Yeah - citric acid is the main ingredient in one of the most

Fentiman's - part deux

You might already know [otherwise just read my last post ], that Fentiman's Botanical Tonic Water taste great. And I mentioned, that I am not totally convinced of the other flavours... Let me now and here explain why. First to the great ones: Rose Lemonade is really nice... however I have to come across one rose drink, which doesn't taste really good. A couple of years I have reviewed [and tried] Sence - also a drink which is based on Bulgarian roses - and it was lovely. Fentiman's Rose Lemonade is not different - maybe slightly too acidic. Anyway - it is just great [however also very simple to replicate - citric acid, sugar syrup, carbonated water and rose water is all what you need...]. The Curiousity Cola is also nice - it is a bit more standalone and unique as other cola sodas- but hit the right spots. Only problem still is: the original just taste better and - well like the original. Cherrybark Cola - is another good soda. While I've expected it to taste

What is the best cranberry juice in the bar?

A good friend of me "whatsapp'ed" me today and asked for my expertise: "What is the best cranberry juice?" I would loved to just let him know the brand - however it is not that easy. What do we understand of cranberry juice? One of the biggest [maybe the  biggest producer] of cranberry products is Ocean Spray. And: it is well regarded. Problem is: it is not a juice! Wait - what? Ocean Spray doesn't produce a juice - they produce a juice cocktail - which translates into a lot of water, a lot of sugar, some taste-balancers as citric acid [nothing against this really] and a minuscule portion of juice - usually around 3%. Yes they have something which is called 100% juice. Which is on one hand true, on the other the biggest deception ever. Because you don't get 100% cranberry - you get a mixture of juices of concentrate - most of the time apple and white grape and a bit of cranberry. There are also some other brands around, which might feature a h