SPIRITS: The more the merrier--Cocktails
Within the gin category, the UK has seen growth across all price segments after sales started to slip in 2008. In a similar vein to rum, the trade credits this success to the growth in cocktail culture, both in bars and in the home. This has, in turn, led to a raft of new releases – including seasonal variants such as Beefeater Winter Edition – in order to capitalise on the growing demand for something that little bit different.
However, not everyone in the industry is convinced that gin’s growth is sustainable. Ibolya Bakos, brand manager at Caorunn Gin, says: “The hot summer had brought a lot of new, great, boutique gin brands to the market. There seems to be an increasing excitement among bartenders and mixologists; they love the versatility and unique flavours of gin. They enjoy working with such a rich category and might switch some vodka consumers to gin that could contribute to category growth.
“On the other hand, I’m not convinced yet that it will be a significant and sustainable growth. There are only a certain number of gin cocktails on menu listings, using only a few of the numerous gin brands. I can see some of these great gin brands on the back-bar of top-end bars, but achieving a healthy rate of sale seems to be a bigger challenge than availability.
“The ultimate question is how individual gin brands can influence consumers to order a more expensive back-bar gin instead of the house pour.
“Off-trade listings are an even bigger challenge. The number of brands within a category is limited and they might replace old ones with some of the newcomers if they see revenue potential, but these rarely seem to enlarge the category itself.
“However, the old-fashioned, dusty image of gin belongs to the past. If the category can maintain being dynamic, consumer-focused and build insight-driven brands, I think gin can have a prosperous future.”
Luke Tegner, brands director at Berry Bros & Rudd Spirits – which launched No 3 Gin in 2010 – agrees that the gin market is prone to fluctuation, but feels that the category’s current success is indeed sustainable.
“Gin has been around for so long that it’s bound to go through ups and downs, but we believe it’s here for a sustained period,” he says.
“The classic G&T is a simple drink that everyone can enjoy, and with new, better mixers there is no reason for that to change. Gin, as the base of many classic cocktails for those (barmen and consumers) who prefer to experiment, has longevity too.
"Gins that are unashamedly gin-flavoured (ie evidently juniper with the freshness of citrus and a spicy bite) will probably outlast the neo-gins that are experimenting with non-traditional flavours (like coconut, tea, blackcurrant, rose petals, etc). These are intriguing but may not all stay the course as more traditional gins will.”
It has been suggested that vodka is facing an ever-increasing challenge to hold on to its crown as the likes of gin and Tequila make their way from the cocktail list to the home spirits cabinet.
It is true that the category has suffered slightly declining volumes globally over the past five years, but a drink with such versatility and prominence at all levels of the market can surely relax a little, safe in the knowledge it will always have a huge market share.
“Vodka is still showing dynamic growth in many markets around the world, so the outlook for the category is very positive,” says Duncan Hayter, international sales director at Gin Mare. “The premiumisation trend of recent years has slowed, however, with the global recession, and this may take longer to recover.
“It also faces new competition from other super-premium white spirits, especially gins and Tequilas that have been slower to develop super-premium variants, but are now making up for lost time. Both the gin and the Tequila categories are starting to show the sort of innovation and creativity in terms of liquid, design, packaging and marketing which helped fuel the growth of premium vodka over the last decade.”