Diageo backs new gin flavour guide

By Rob Brown

Published: 08 June, 2018

Industry body The Gin Guild has proposed a new initiative to end consumer confusion over the flavour properties of different kinds of gin.

Gin-Note is a flavour guidance template designed to give drinkers, retailers and bartenders insight into how different products taste before buying or serving.

“Too often consumers, without being given sufficient information, are left to buy gin merely based on bottle design,” said Gin Guild director general Nicholas Cook.

“That is all very well and there are some very effective and beautiful bottle designs on the market, but it is the gin that is most important.”

The flavour guide has been devised in conjunction with more than 60 brands. Each has prepared notes on the flavour properties of their own products.

Gin-Note uses a combination of graphics and text to give a consistent way of describing flavours, which are split into categories such as juniper, citrus, spice and fruit.

The initiative has been endorsed by some of the world’s biggest drinks companies, including Diageo, maker of the Gordons and Tanqueray gin brands.

“This work should enable greater clarification and information on what has always been an exciting area,” said Diageo marketing & innovation director Ed Pilkington.

“The Guild, which represents large and small distillers, is well placed to provide commentary and guidance.”

The new project should allow drinkers to make informed decisions about their choice of gin more quickly, added Gin guild director Justin Hicklin.

“There is very little time, at the point of sale, to communicate the virtues of a brand,” he said. “We have attempted to give a consistent and appealing way to do so, in the critical area of taste.

“For brands it means that people can explore flavour with a proper expectation of what the gin delivers, for retailers it will reduce the disappointment for consumers who buy a gin without fully understanding what it tastes like and get it home to discover that it is not to their liking.”

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