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Gin brands innovate with local flavours says IWSR

The premium-and-above gin segment is seeing a decline in key markets like the UK and Spain, yet it is expected to perform relatively well in countries such as the US, France, Japan and India.

Per the latest IWSR data, brands worldwide are drawing inspiration from local flavours and cultural elements to infuse their products with a unique sense of place, driving new product development. Many utilise local or foraged botanicals, locally sourced water and production byproducts to establish connections with other drinks categories.

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Recent innovations have seen gin brands incorporating unique local flavours and flora. For instance, Beam Suntory’s Sakura Bloom Edition uses Sakura flowers in its gin production, while Hamada Syuzou Distillers employs wood chips from cherry trees in their Sasshu Gin, which also includes honkaku shochu, a traditional sweet potato-based spirit, and Japanese botanicals such as sour pomelo, shikuwasa citrus fruit, yomogi (mugwort) and biwa (loquat) leaves.

Korean artisanal gin brand Buja, created during the early days of the pandemic, uses sustainable local ingredients. Buja Gin Batch #001 features 15 local botanicals, including hallabong, a Japanese citrus-fruit hybrid with mandarin notes grown on Korea’s Jeju Island, culinary herb mugwort and local varieties of juniper berries and pine needles. The range now includes nine products.

Meanwhile, film actress Margot Robbie has launched a new gin inspired by the Australian coastline called Papa Salt Coastal Gin, featuring native Australian botanicals like roasted wattleseed, oyster shells and hibiscus. Additionally, Australia’s Four Pillars has collaborated with skincare brand Go-To to create Four Pillars My New Go-To Gin, which includes quandong, a native peach from Western Australia.

Kenyan gin Procera’s Green Dot expression is crafted using a single juniper tree, incorporating berries, leaves and toasted wood from the Narok region. The brand’s 2023 edition marks the first use of juniper from this particular area. Similarly, Kenyan drinks company African Originals launched Mara Edition Gin, highlighting botanicals foraged from Northern Mara, including wild basil and mondia whitei, with croton hand-harvested by the indigenous Maasai community.

Some gin producers have been inspired by their region’s history to deliver a sense of place. Emma Watson’s Renais Gin draws from the winemaking region of Chablis, incorporating grapes salvaged from the winemaking process, pressed skins, lees and a distillate of Kimmeridgian stone, which significantly impacts the area’s terroir. Italian gin Arama, from the Veneto region, is made with radicchio from Treviso, inspired by traditional infusions made from the roots and leaves of the radicchio plant.

Many producers are also using byproducts from other spirits or production processes in their gin. Scotland’s oldest working distillery, The Glenturret, has added The Aberturret Gin to its range, using its new-make spirit and 14 botanicals, including local chamomile and sumac. Premium French gin brand G’Vine introduced a watermelon-flavoured addition to its June by G’Vine range in the UK, using grape alcohol produced in the Cognac region. Australian gin Ink’s new Bitter Orange Gin uses bitter oranges, sweet oranges, bergamot, and grapefruit, with citrus rescued from distilling their original Ink Gin. 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, complemented by botanicals from the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Some distillers are tapping into the terroir by using specific local water sources for their gins. Canada’s Park Distillery recently launched a floral gin made with glacier water from Banff National Park, combining eight botanicals, including coriander, lemon peel, orris root, rose petals, chamomile and green cardamom. One dollar from each bottle sold is donated to Nature Conservancy Canada.

As the gin category evolves, product innovation continues to drive excitement and sophistication beyond traditional fruit flavours. Further examples of global gin innovation are detailed in IWSR’s data release.

• IWSR
• Emma Watson
• The Glenturret
• Canada Park
• G'Vine
• Goose Ridge
• Margot Robbie
• Go-To-Gin
• hallabong