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GIN MASTERS
Where old and new
triumphed alike
Patience Gould casts her eye over the
THERE’S SOMETHING hugely premium own-label, premium and
exciting about sitting down to a gin super-premium – and it’s interesting
Gin Masters proceedings, which at the
tasting – particularly one that’s to note that super-premium was
saw both traditional and modern-style staged in London’s Cinnamon Club, easily the largest category. In
gins prevailing – proof indeed that
where old-world hospitality mingles addition to these classes, a goodly
so charmingly with the 21st century. cluster of gins had entered into the
there is room for both
Where once the Old Westminster Packaging & Design category.
Library was, the Cinnamon Club is Judging gin today presents quite a
now and along with its esteemed challenge; back in the days of yore it
dining room, it boasts two bars, one was a far more straightforward
the Library Bar, which pays homage process, as gins by and large
to its previous life, and the other, The remained very traditional in look and
Cinnamon Club Bar, with its award- taste – with botanicals in the main
winning interior of rubber floors and comparatively conservative, and
leather-covered walls, embraces juniper nominally resplendent.
modern-day design.This was where However the advent of Bombay
the tasting was staged, and there Sapphire, and its 10 botanicals, has
were five judges, including proved to be a catalyst to producers
GinTime’s Geraldine Coates, the on both sides of the Atlantic and
Cinnamon Club’s bar manager Petrit paved the way for a dizzying array of
Luci, Ian Wisnieski,the Sanderson’s gins with rose petals, cucumber,
Guiseppe Gallo, and Peter McKay, Baobab, Sarawak black pepper and
distillery director at Alcohols. Back of more besides in their botanical
bar there were over 50 gins to mixes. As a result, although juniper is
taste – the very size of the entry always present in many modern-day
is testament to the activity gins, it has taken a back seat and
currently coursing through this has caused a divide between the
the category and happily it’s traditional gins and the designer
all happening in the upper offerings of the 21st century. (See
echelons. For & Against p72.)
Official statistics are Happily, in the Gin Masters both
misleading as they tend to lump triumphed! In the Super Premium
all gin together, and while own- class Cognac Ferrand’s Citadelle
label and low-priced gins are and Coe Vintners’ Junipero were the
the dominant sectors in terms of Masters; in the premium the spoils
volume, both are in decline, but belonged to Brokers, Hayman’s Old
internationally premium and Tom and Chivas Brothers’ Beefeater,
above are showing confident while Waitrose took the highest own-
growth of around 8% a year. label honours with a Gold. As for the
The Gin Masters programme Packaging & Design class, Gonzalez
classified gins according to their Byass’ London Gin took the Masters
quality and as a result there and the restyled Beefeater bagged
were five classes: own-label, the Gold. sb
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