THE GIFT OF GIVING
Why we should all try to give more
I want to start this column by talking about my father. It’s a bit of a strange place to start, seeing as this is a magazine about gin and my old man won’t touch the stuff, but bear with me.
Without meaning to lean too heavily into any ‘daddy’s girl’ stereotypes, I love my dad. He taught me how to drive a car, scramble an egg and put up a shelf. He helped foster my love of good beer, 70s prog rock and Formula 1 racing, and taught me the value of ordering what the locals do when you eat and drink abroad.
He has also taught me some excellent life lessons which (I hope) have helped to make me a better person: be kind; try your best in everything you do; give to others where you can, and be grateful when others give to you. He’d hate me bigging him up like this, because he’s naturally modest and self-effacing, but he really is a great man. We haven’t seen much of each other in the past year and I can’t wait to go for a pint with him again.
It’s that last life lesson, about giving, that I want to focus on here. This doesn’t have to mean grand, sweeping gestures, like trying to clean up the oceans or solve world hunger. In fact, it is probably more about the little things - checking in with an anxious colleague, paying for a friend’s cup of coffee, giving someone a lift to the airport (when we could still travel).
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to do a small thing to make someone else’s life a bit easier, and it still staggers me how many people choose not to, or – perhaps worse – don’t think to try. It may be our technological advances that have built the towering successes of modern society, but the desire to help our fellow man is the foundation upon which these towers stand.
For all its flaws, 2020 presented a lot of opportunities for giving and the gin industry is no exception. Distilleries around the world turned their production lines over to making hand sanitiser when health services were caught short. Gin producers, distributors and ambassadors moved to support hospitality staff and venues that were hit by industry shutdowns. Consumers started to shop local, seeing which gin makers they could support in their own communities, and more distilleries put time and effort into online tours and tastings to stay connected to fans near and far.
Whether large or small, performed by international conglomerates or individuals, these acts of kindness have been critical in keeping the gin industry afloat - from the passionate distillers who make the spirits, to the bartenders who mix them and the independent stores that sell them. And let’s be frank, quite a lot of those who were putting in the hours to help others weren’t in the rosiest of positions themselves. We should all be grateful for the selflessness shown by gin folk in 2020, as it means we still have a diverse and thriving industry to talk about and celebrate in 2021.
In this issue of the magazine, we are celebrating the 2021 Icons of Gin cohort; these people and places around the world have been chosen not just for doing their job excellently, but for going above and beyond, and for helping and encouraging others to become better as well.
It doesn’t take a lot of effort to do a small thing to make someone else’s life a bit easier
You’ll also see the story of Masons of Yorkshire; after its distillery burned down in 2019, it was people offering to help where they could that got the business back on its feet.
The gin world is built on a spirit of sharing, collaboration, friendship, kindness, support - I could go on, but you get the picture. The care shown by those in the sector continues to warm my heart and they should be proud to act as role models, demonstrating the benefits of helping your neighbour.
The past year has caused worry for a lot of people over what they have – and quite rightly in many cases, where jobs have been lost and futures left uncertain. But in 2021, let’s try to think more about what we might be able to give.