Welcome To The Gin Ignite Podcast

Whether you want to party or have a quiet night in gin will ignite

News

• Hello and Welcome to Episode 21.
• Nipple In A Tipple
• Fantastic chance for the instagram community to raise awareness for breast cancer
• October is breast cancer month.
• This was created by Bev @gin_meets_girl, my Instagram shoutout a couple of weeks ago.
• Spread the word about breast awareness and monthly checks.
• So the challenge runs throughout October
• Come up with booby inspired drinks and cocktails
• Nothing is off limits whether it’s a G&T with a cherry on top or full on fancy pants cocktail.
• Post to #nippleinatipple
• @coppafeelpeople just giving
• Please have a look at @gin_meets_girl profile and share the #nippleinatipple post.
• Reviews
• Podcast directory reviews are really important to help the podcast reach more people.
• If you do have an opportunity to take the time to do a review I would be most grateful.
• Events
• #SmallGinSeptember - special thank you again to Vanessa @nessejay91 for setting this up.
• If you have an event that you would like me to mention then please get in touch.

Weekly Gin Recommendation

• My Weekly Recommendation - Massingberd-Mundy Burrells gin
• Focussing on your heritage is a good brand story because you have something solid to base it on. It also gives natural prestige to what it is that your selling.
• The flip side of that is that you have to actually produce something that is worth of that prestige.
• The Massingberd-Mundy bases their story around the South Ormsby estate which was purchased in 1638 from the Skipwiths by Sir Drayner Massingberd.
• The South Ormsby estate was held for 400 years by the Massingberd’s who became Massingberd-Mundy in the 19th century.
• This is where the Massingberd-Mundy distillery takes it’s name.
• Head Distiller Tristan Jorgensen took on the mantle of producing this gin. He wanted a juniper led, traditional London Dry
• The nose is really interesting. There is a freshness to it. Almost a sweetness to the aroma along with a zestiness too.
• The flavour profile is breathtaking. You instantly get the juniper and dryness hitting you, then you get a citrus flavour followed by a sweetness followed by a bit of heat before the flavour drops off ever so slowly.
• The whole profile is so smooth. So smooth I would be happy to have this as a sipping gin. I don’t often say that.
• I tried this with my normal Mediterranean tonic and I have to say that this really enhanced the flavour even further. I would say there is a dryness to the gin which normally would niggle me, like a Negroni does, but in this case it adds to the experience.
• I think it would work with any light tonic including Elderflower.
• I think this would be excellent as a dry martini and I can’t decide whether it could also work as a dirty martini or a Vespa martini. Something I need to try
• This has been added to many cocktails and I am keen to try this out.
• Congratulations Tristan and the team on the South Ormsby Estate in creating a gin which matches the heritage behind it .

Paul Jackson from The Gin Guide
Career

• 2009 - 2017 Digital Marketing
• Worked for couple of agencies
• Business around the world
• Consulting work with Google for online advertising
• Speaking at Google conference

Start of Gin Guide

• Right place right time
• Very quick response to gin
• Readership of website
• Was not long before distilleries and brands wanted to be involved.
• Very up front that did not have knowledge. Had enthusiasm
• Associate and write in a way that suitable for the people that were consuming it
• There was a choice between marketing and gin. Gin was the winner.

Judging

• WSET inviting him on to a level 1 course covering all spirits
• Carried on through all the courses which has been hugely valuable
• Contents and comparison for judging gins
• Invitations to panels
• Judging is now a large part of his work but only for The Gin Guide Awards

The Gin Guide

Overview

• Revenue from subscriptions
• Also provides consultancy mainly for marketing strategy and planning
• In addition helps plan launches for new brand or existing brand launching new gin rather than advising on more practical matters like distilling etc.

History

• Difference from 2014 to now.
• Sipsmith emerging 11 years ago
• Mainly supermarket brands at that point
• Look at back bar and see a few gins now there are tens of them. Volume of gin has been huge
• Everyone has local distillery. So much innovation
• So international now
• 5 or 6 years ago phone calls with London, Birmingham and Manchester now Slovenia, Estonia and Angola

The Gin Guide Difference

• Accessible without jargon
• Appeals to people are new to gin as well those who know about gin
• Independent and objective. No sponsors.
• Impartial guide.
• Wants people to try and experiment
• Garnishing section added so that would have the recommended garnish for 400 gins, so that you have starting place to go to
• Find things there that are relevant are useful

The Gin Guide - Brand

• Global guide to gin and distilleries with aim to help people to discover new and existing gin
• Gin brands and distilleries showcase gins and distilleries and deliver to audience that follows The Gin Guide who are passionate about gin.
• The brand means to Paul as much as people using it
• Stands as sign of authenticity / credibility
• Keen to maintain brand by constantly monitoring and changing

The Gin Guide - Services

• Product development - helping refine product if new and also helping to refine existing products
• Got concept for flavour profile and ask view on whether that is correct
• Want view on final product and whether it is ready to go
• Implementation

Distillers

The Gin Guide Membership

• Access to trade professional and users that read gin guide
• Having showcase to large user base on social media and newsletter about the distillery and the people behind it
• A lot of people find out about gin. Very much pays for itself
• All about distillery and people behind it
• Who they are trying to target and who the resources are

Distillers

• Trend for local focus because easy if name after a local area to galvanise support
• If not focussed on location have to appeal in a different ways such as branding or flavouring

Crafting The Brand

• Authenticity
• Important to have good spirit first and foremost
• Secondary for people to know about botanical and process
• Like to know who is behind the brand
• If great spirit then going to sell repeat bottles
• Some brands have nice bottle but not such good spirit so will sell one bottle and no more

Gin Of The Week

• Invite only feature
• Lots of international readers and consumers
• Mix of gins around the world
• Mix of types like navy strength, Old Tom or something in flavour direction
• Mix up with classics
• Brand new launches
• The Gower Gin Company last week. Dragon Strength Gin
• Always good quality gins
• Gin of the week announced on Monday

Helping Member Distilleries

• Mad time
• Challenging for a lot of people
• Lots of people Innovated and adapted
• Tough job being a distiller
• Helping advice and guidance
• Helping transition from revenue from trade to consumers and direct retail
• Updating websites and platforms and changing to more direct marketing etc

The Gin Guide Awards

Why New Design and Sustainability Section ?

• Added first time last year
• 2 Import things to consumers
• Design
• Sustainability
• Design - look of bottle and spirit itself
• Sustainability - Important factor in decision making. Great to showcase what is happening so encourages other distilleries to do the same
• All about discovery

Winners

• Number of winners determined by the amount of gins entered into that category achieving a threshold score
• Threshold for being a finalist and threshold for being a winner
• Pauls wife is a maths teacher and is on hand to help with the calculations
• Exclusive to win an award and has meaning

Logistics

• Hundreds of gins get entered
• Beast of projects
• 5 or 6 months of work
• Setting things up to opening entry and bottling up all of sample into minatures for judges
• Providing feedback to all entrants
• Feedback of panel of experts
• Chance to find distilleries around the world and showcase the gin for winners

Judging Panel

• Very open showcasing who the panel is
• Broad representation of professionals in the industry
• Retail
• Distribution
• Bar Tenders
• Mixologists
• Distillers
• Writers and bloggers
• Have to be successful with multiple audiences
• Get viewpoint from bredth of people
• Difficult to choose panels
• Judges are enthusiastic and trustworthy

Award Ceremony

• Don’t want to burden people with event cost in their ticket
• Entries from 30 different countries
• Can’t easily make to ceremony
• Logistics and costs of organising
• Judging process rigorous and watertight rather than event side of it
• Awards have visual and long lasting content
• Great amount of PR to trade
• Winners catalogue
• More exciting things this year include partnerships with other companies
• More will be revealed

Reviews

• Don’t look at marketing information / botanicals etc
• Mainly down to spirit so won’t really comment on the bottle
• If have a good bottle need to have the spirit to match

Process

• Pour out into wine glass
• Let breathe and then look at aroma or appearance Looking for sediment
• Taste neat a number of times
• Taste with ice or water. Reduces ABV of gin
• Taste with tonic as well. Very important to do this
• Try a few garnishes
• Try a gin again at another time

How do taste so many gins ?

• Spread out as much as possible
• Spit it out rather than drink too much
• Taste gins individually
• Palette fatigue real thing so very difficult if you are assessing gins. Sometimes there are 50 gins tasted by other judges !!
• The maximum Paul has tasted in one sitting is 20
• Judging is done remotely for gin guide awards to allow plenty of time to make their assessments

Future

The Gin Guide Awards

• Entry opens for 2021 start of January
• More additions for winners and finalists
• Possibly new categories
• Wait and see

The Gin Guide

• More of the same
• More ways for people to discover gin through video and live content
• Large segment of market that know what they like but show them some new gins within the category they might find interesting
• Printed version coming

Covid

• Unpredictable at the moment
• A lot of people have changed from trade to consumer
• Lots of innovation
• Virtual experience and online tasting
• Virtual events such as International Scottish Gin Day
• Those with gin tours and gin schools that created large revenue making it difficult at the moment
• Gin tourism and trade impacting the industry
• Consumer side booming.
• Hopefully Christmas strong for sales
• Lot of distillery thrived that have direct consumer focus
• Lots of challenges around events and artisan markets

What is the best way to get in touch ?

• Instagram - @theginguide
• Twitter - @theginguide
• Face Book - The Gin Guide
• Web - https://www.theginguide.com

What is your favourite gin and how would you serve it ?

• Impartial so not have favourite but will go through some he has enjoyed in the past and some which he has enjoyed recently:-
• St Georges Terroir Gin
• Martin Millers Gin
• QVT Gin
• Shire Gin
• Greensand Ridge
• 3 Wrens Gin - Bison Grass and Raspberry Gin Aged in Balsamic Vinegar Casks

What does gin mean to you ?

• Enjoyment and socialising and convivial element
• Easy to get caught up in other elements
• Use your personal preferences
• Discovery

Instagram Community Shout Out

• My Instagram shoutout this week is @theginlord
• I apologise that I did not see your live for a month on 10th September.
• I really love the frankness of your lives. Please keep them coming.
• I like the way you engage and I would like to publicly thank you for your comments relating to last weeks episode about supporting distilleries.
• Really enjoyed the live you did with Tristan Jorgensen from Massingberd-Mundy. Really helped me when preparing for Episode 12.
• Always enjoy the latest Negroni incarnations. I am still trying to get Negroni right but I think the only way is to ditch the Campari !!
• Always enjoy your reviews especially the one on The Gower Gin Company Dragon Strength
• Didn’t enjoy your post about reducing your gin collection
• I am glad you have started your podcast and wish you a lot of luck with that.
• I also have even more respect having found out recently that you are a judge on The Gin Guide Awards.
• Thank you again for your lives and keep them coming.

Get In Contact

• IM me at @ginignite Instagram or @ginignite on Twitter
• E-Mail me at [email protected]
• If you have ideas IM me or e-mail at [email protected]
• If you want to be on the show then IM me or e-mail me at [email protected]

Final Thought

• The thing that I like about the gin community that I have met so far is that no one judges anyone for what they believe, what they look like or who they choose to be.
• The world would be a better place if everyone took that view.
• Grab your drink, toast those you love, enjoy your weekend and whether your decide to party or stay in I will be with you in spirit !!!
• Seriously though enjoy your weekend and I look forward to joining you for another episode next...