Gin the money
FROM ‘ MOTHER’S RUIN’ TO NAFF... TO THE COOLEST DRINK AROUND, IT’S: Incredible comeback of the G&T sees about to hit £1BN
FIRST a scourge of the poor, then a middle-class comforter – few drinks have had such violent shifts of image than gin.
Now it is back in demand again and proving to be a billion-pound shot in the arm for the economy.
In the days when it was dirt cheap and plentiful, gin was known as mother’s ruin and was blamed for a rise in crime and prostitution.
Stories abounded of heavy tipplers becoming insane and infertile.
By the 20th century it was a byword for seedy drinks and dives – hence bathtub gin and gin joints.
After its price soared it was taken up by the better-off. And eventually it went out of style, with many drinkers dismissing it as stuffy and uncool.
Fashions change and once again gin is all the rage, with UK sales on course to smash £1billion next year. In the five years to 2015, 117 distilleries opened across the land, with a record 49 starting in the last year alone.
Tasting tours, gin festivals and specialist cocktail bars are popping up everywhere. The upsurge in popularity is also a great tonic for exports. Globally, sales have soared 46 per cent since 2010 and are worth over £2billion.
The US, swayed by the drink’s popularity on smash drama Downton Abbey, bought a record £145million worth last year. We also sold 30 million bottles to Europe in 2015.
The drink has even become part of the Brexit debate.
Leaders in the industry have warned a Government minister that a vote to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum may put a lot of trade at risk.
Lucy Panton, Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s director of communications, said: “Gin is a quintessential British spirit and is now being enjoyed globally. Sales have gone through the roof in America and this is partly influenced by Downton Abbey. “We’ve also seen a revival in cocktails using premium spirits and gin is a great base alcohol. People are experiencing gin in ways we’ve never seen before.” The story began in the 16th century when British soldiers fighting in the Netherlands drank the juniper- flavoured spirit jenever. Taken before a fight, it gave rise to the phrase Dutch courage. Gin came here from across the North Sea but everything changed in the 18th century – with the gin craze. The government slapped a heavy duty on imported spirits and gave Brits licences to make our own. Thousands of gin shops sprang up all over the country selling cheap booze. The drunkenness and rise in crime shocked society. In 1734 a woman called Judith Dufour strangled her two- year- old son and sold his clothes to buy gin. That’s what led to the nickname mother’s ruin.
Artist William Hogarth captured the drunken depravity in his startling 1751 engraving Gin Lane.
Parliament stepped in and passed a Gin Act to licence the shops and bring them under magistrates’ control.
Posh
But gin remained part of British culture. The classic gin and tonic was especially popular in the colonial days of empire because the quinine in tonic could ward off malaria.
So why is the drink enjoying such a huge resurgence today?
Tristan Stephenson, an award-winning bar owner who has just published a guide to the spirit called The Curious Bartender’s Gin Palace, believes it is partly due to national pride and an interest in locally produced food and drink. He said: “There’s a certain patriotism with gin, it gas strong English heritage which is kind of ironic as most of the gin we consume is made in scotland and that accounts for 60 percent of British intake of gin.
“Cheaper brands are losing share as people upgrade to premium spirits such as Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray or a locally made gin,
Among the new producers is Cheltenham-based sibling run by Felix Elliot- Berry 24 with his sisters Clarice, 22 and cicely 20 and brother Digby 17
They developed an interest in gin-making after helping out at their parents’ microbrewery
At first they experimented with sloe gin and their initial batch sold out at a farmer's market
Their brand was launched in 2014 and they produce up to 450 70cl bottles every ten days .They sell at posh shops Harvey Nichols and
Gin is a British spirit now being enjoyed globally
Fortnum & Mason plus independent retailers in the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. Felix said: “People are becoming more educated about gin. We are thinking about which parts of the flavours we like.” There is even a distillery at Gatwick’s North Terminal, where gin is made and sold.
Bubble
Tristan, a former bartender of the year who has worked for Jamie Oliver, said the cocktail revival has helped the latest gin explosion.
And he has tips for making the perfect G&T, matching 40ml of gin with 100ml of choice tonic.
He said if the gin is floral in style a dry tonic water will balance it.
Use plenty of ice, straight from the freezer so it is not wet and slushy, which dilutes the drink too quickly.
He also recommends the right garnish, such as a slice of cucumber for Hendrick’s, pink grapefruit for a Tanqueray Ten and apple with Williams Chase.
Tristan said: “In the 1990s it was more about show than taste, quality and craft. Vodkadriven cocktails were made more anonymous with lots of sugar and tropical fruits.
“Bartenders’ research has revitalised a number of classic cocktails and new products market themselves as ‘great for a gin fizz’.”
As the market grows, Tristan thinks brands need to find their unique selling point to survive.
Silent Pool in Guildford, Surrey, is ramping up production to keep pace with demand and has launched the world’s largest gin bottle – nine litres. Gin usually starts as a neutral spirit and is finished by mixing in juniper and flavours from botanicals such as coriander and citrus peel. These aromatics can be added before, after or during the distilling process. The gin revival is not only about drinking the stuff, there is renewed interest in its culture and how it is made. Edinburgh Gin Distillery plays host to more than 325 people a week on their tours. The distillery’s Tarin McAllister said: “People have shied away from alcopops and gone for better quality spirits but are drinking less of them. “We’re in a gin bubble at the moment and it shows no signs of being burst.”
We’re in a gin bubble which is showing no signs of bursting