This “gin resistance” is fairly regionalized to the United States and seems to dramatically dissipate when you look toward other countries. Why is gin so beloved in the UK, Spain, and the rest of Europe while many Americans have put it on their “do not drink” list? The answer may be more about what gin is being mixed with than the quality or taste of the gin itself. Part of this passion comes out of the sheer opportunity to change perceptions about gin in the United States.įor a number of reasons, gin has gotten an unfairly bad reputation in the United States, where you’re more likely to find people who say they hate gin than love it. Gin has been a key element in the craft cocktail revolution and a spirit that many craft bartenders are passionate about. In the 1800s, gin was an extremely popular spirit, and as such it was used as the base for many of the great classic cocktails, like the Martini, Negroni, Aviation, and Bijou. If you go to any craft cocktail bar in the world, odds are you’ll see several classic gin drinks on the menu. The real story of gin extends beyond the raw sales numbers. It turns out that people are drinking less ‘bad’ gin and drinking a lot more ‘good’ gin. It was at this end of the category where the volume dropped the most (-6.9%), but that drop was offset by some significant growth in the high end gin space, which saw a 5% growth in volume and an impressive 6.3% growth in gross revenue. These gins are the ones on the bottom shelf of liquor and grocery stores and often are sold in giant liter bottles rather than conventional 750ml. Yes, general volume may have declined last year, but that drop was mostly at the very low end of the gin category, categorized as “value gin”. It’s when you start to look at the broader picture of gin that the move begins to make more sense. Hardly compelling data, and on paper not nearly enough to justify investing significant money producing and distributing a limited release product. In 2013, total volume for the gin category was down a whopping 3.8% (source: DISCUS) with a 0.6% drop in gross revenue. If you just look at volume, gin doesn’t really seem like a blockbuster spirit. It was a surprising move – why would Diageo bring back an old, discontinued product for a small limited time release? When you look at the numbers for the gin category, it must have been an fairly difficult pitch by the Tanqueray team to get Diageo to greenlight the special limited release. Last year, Tanqueray resurrected Tanqueray Malacca Gin, a product that it had killed almost a decade ago.
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