The latest report from IWSR is spotlighting innovation in gin production – although some markets are facing challenges, producers are incorporating local botanicals, cultural practices, other spirits, and specific water sources to keep things fresh.
While the premium gin segment is declining in core markets like the UK and Spain, IWSR research says that the segment is expected to perform relatively well in countries including the US, France, Japan, and India.
Local botanicals
Recent gin innovations are tapping into local flora to create unique flavour profiles, and Australia is leading the charge. New South Wales distillery, Four Pillars, collaborated with skincare brand, Go-To, for the third year in a row. The companies created Four Pillars My New Go-To Gin, which is infused with quandong, a native peach from Western Australia.
Papa Salt Coastal Gin is another example of the potential for Australian botanicals. Created by actress Margot Robbie to reflect the East Coast where she grew up, the gin features roasted wattleseed, oyster shells and hibiscus.
South East Asia is also jumping on local botanicals to inspire new gins. In Japan, Beam Suntory released its Sakura Bloom Edition, featuring Sakura flowers, and Hamada Syuzou Distillers is using cherry wood chips, sour pomelo, shikuwasa citrus fruit, yomogi (mugwort) and biwa (loquat) leaves to create its Sasshu Gin.
Korean artisanal gin brand Buja’s Batch #001 is made with 15 local botanicals, including hallabong, a Japanese citrus-fruit hybrid with mandarin notes grown on Korea’s Jeju Island, as well as culinary herb mugwort, local varieties of juniper berries, and pine needles. The range has expanded to include nine products.
Over in Kenya, Procera’s 2023 Green Dot edition is made with juniper berries, leaves and toasted wood from a single juniper tree in the Narok region of the country. Distillery African Originals released the Mara Edition Gin to its range, featuring botanicals from the Northern Mara region. These include wild basil and mondia whitei, as well as croton – hand harvested by the indigenous Maasai community.
Incorporating other spirits
A number of drinks producers are making use of production byproducts from across their portfolio, such as wine or grain spirits, in their gin production. New South Wales colour-changing gin innovator, Ink, has released its new Bitter Orange Gin. It uses bitter oranges, sweet oranges, bergamot and grapefruit, as well as the citrus rescued from the distilling of the brand’s original Ink Gin.
Scotland’s oldest working distillery, The Glenturret, added The Aberturret Gin to its range, which uses The Glenturret’s new-make spirit and 14 botanicals, including local chamomile and sumac.
Premium French gin brand G’Vine recently introduced a new watermelon-flavoured addition to its June by G’Vine range in the UK. The brand’s spirits are all created from grape alcohol, rather than the traditional grain, and are produced in the Cognac region of France.
In the US, Washington State’s Goose Ridge Estate Vineyards and Winery linked its new gin Feather & Folly to its wine production by using a base made from Goose Ridge Estate cabernet sauvignon grapes, joined by botanicals sourced both from the Pacific Northwest and further afield.
Specific water sources
Distillers are even making use of local water sources to imbue products with a unique sense of place – with Canada’s Park Distillery recently launching a floral gin made using glacier water from Banff National Park. Flora & Fauna Gin combines eight botanicals, including coriander, lemon peel, orris root, rose petals, chamomile, green cardamom, and licorice root.
As the gin category evolves, product innovation that incorporates a unique sense of place, or redefines what gin can be, continues to drive a sense of excitement to the category.
