– Gary Shaw , executive vice president of M . S . Walker

confused with Tanqueray No . 10 , another option that remains a favorite of enthusiasts ). While London dry is a classic , that doesn ’ t mean it ’ s left out when it comes to innovation .

“ Because gin is so botanically driven , terroir and the country where it ’ s distilled has become of interest to consumers ,” says Gary Shaw , executive vice president of spirits importer and distributor M . S . Walker . “ Now you see that classic London dry being reimagined in every country with their own botanicals . There ’ s gin from Scotland , from Japan , from New Zealand or Australia . In terroir , there ’ s discovery ,” he says .

Brookies Gin , distilled at the Cape Byron Distillery in Byron Bay , Australia , leans into this discovery , marketing the product as a classic dry gin infused with a taste of the Australian rainforest . Botanicals are sourced locally ,, and the entire company operates with a sustainability focused mindset .

“ Gin is having this renaissance ,” says Brookies CEO Eddie Brook . “ We ’ re having this great period where we see this gin boom , and there ’ s more knowledge about gin . We talk about a conscious consumer , and that ’ s our customer . One that cares about where their product comes from , but also loves the quality of their product . We source almost everything locally , and grow a lot on our farm . Sixty percent of the orchard is all regenerated rainforest .”

Like other new , dry styles , juniper forms the backbone of Brookies ’ palate , while letting subtler botanicals fill out its flavor profile . “ If you go back , gin was essentially one style ,” Brook says .

“ For us , when we set out , we wanted to target our gin lovers , people that really appreciate a quality gin and like to explore the gin category .,” he says . “ Innovation is done two different ways . You can do it through something completely different , or try to bring a new quality to a classic . We want our gin to be mixed in Martinis , or a great Gin and Tonic .”

A BOTANICAL TAKEOVER The palate of dry gin can be polarizing for consumers . “ It tastes like medicine ,” a skeptic might say in critique of the spirit . They would be right , in a sense , as gin ’ s predecessor genever was created by Dutch and Belgian monks as a medicinal liquor . Gin itself was first marketed as a remedy across Europe .

Today , the category has grown far past its medicinal roots . In recent years , the range of styles available to consumers has exploded . From pink gins to flavored gins to aged gins , craft distillers have let their imagination run wild when it comes to possibilities .

“ Fifteen years ago , gin was coming into the states with lighter botanicals , fresher fruits , more of the citrus notes and was actually downplaying some of the juniper ,” notes Shaw . “ Because of the early success of those alternatives to the heavy , juniper-based gin , we ’ re now seeing a continuation of the discovery of different botanicals in order to create a myriad of different flavors .”

One type of gin making a big splash these days is aged gin , known as yellow gin , barrel gin or reposado gin . This is a relatively young category , and it blurs the line a bit between gin , genever and whiskey . Gin is distilled via its typical process , but then left to rest in barrels ( of any type ), usually for just a few months .

St . George Spirits offers enthusiasts a chance to experience the best of both worlds of gin and whiskey . “ Releasing an aged gin was not something we set about to do from the onset ,” says master distiller Lance Winters . “ Dave Smith , our head distiller , gets full credit for the idea . His reasoning was that our Dry Rye gin , which has an unaged rye whiskey as its base , has a strong enough botanical backbone to stand up to the weight of barrel aging . The ex-wine barrels that he selected added beautifully to the confusion of ‘ Am I a gin , or am I a whiskey ’?”

34 • Summer 2023 www . cheersonline . com