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Spirits Trend: Gin Explosion

2017 was the year of the gin explosion, and UBC was happy to receive more gin entries than ever before. Playing a part in this uptick in interest for the botanically infused spirit are the gin and tonic craze that swept through Europe and the Americas over the last few years as well as the rapidly expanding number of distilleries opening worldwide. After vodka, gin is one of the first products new distillers try their hand at. Likewise, new drinkers often make the leap from vodka to gin when looking for a more flavorful option within their comfort zone.

Millennials have embraced gin cocktail culture which dovetails with a desire to consume clean, natural ingredients. London Dry Gin falls easily in line with an organic sensibility being made exclusively from natural ingredients and without any added flavors post distillation. Adding to the complete picture of a modern lifestyle, there are small producers all over the world crafting local gins that express their particular region in the botanicals used for flavor, like this year’s 93 point finalist Filliers Dry 28 Pine Blossom Gin from Belgium. As advertised, pine blossom dominates the nose with sweet, sappy citrus, lime blossom, and lemongrass. Woodsy and saline on the palate, green olive, candied grapefruit peel, and sea breeze make for a complex sipping gin that would be great in cocktails.

A willingness to incorporate out of the box botanicals is also on the rise, one of the most successful examples is this year’s 93 point finalist Eden Mill Hop Gin from Scotland. A slightly greenish yellow hue in the glass, this hop-laced gin is bursting with summery fresh-cut grass and lime zest notes that play off the bitter juniper character to lively, zingy effect. A spice bite on the long finish.

Aged gins are also becoming more common; one of our top scoring finalists with 96 points was the Copperworks Northwest Cask Finished Gin from the United States. Crushed black peppercorns and rosemary jump from the glass in this cask aged gin. A vibrant palate of orange peel, lime zest, and freshly grated ginger zings through the mouth, with a bold alcoholic warmth elevating these flavors. Outspoken and complex.

This experimentation across the category is expanding the notion of what gins can be. As a wider range of flavors becomes available within the gin categories, it’s sure to continue drawing in more and more consumers.

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