Night Shift – London after Dark
When the sun sets and the moon appears
over London, the city takes on a different
character and the Night Shift begins.
The London Transport Museum isrunning an exhibition reflecting onelectric street lighting at the beginning of
the 20th century and how it transformed
the city at night. The exhibition, whichruns until 10 April 2016, contemplates
the new opportunities created forpleasure seekers and the greater demands
from night workers travelling to and fromthe city.

What better pursuit for pleasure seekers
than indulging in a fine gin to relax?
Clearly many agree. When the Museum
asked the Gin Guild to present an event in
the theatre space, it sold out so fast that
it was decided to repeat the event laterthat night, selling out once again. Trains,
trams and buses and iconic travel postersof yesteryear in the museum exhibition
were an added attraction.

Nicholas said “We are regularly asked totalk to consumers about gin, and try tobalance tastings with a little bit of culture
and history, basic introduction to gin
production and botanicals. My thanks to
the Guild members who have kindly
supplied gin for these and other Guildorganised tasting events.
This year, I have taken the opportunity to
showcase various member’s gins, at
events as diverse as the International
Food Exhibition at ExCEL, the famous
Cambridge Union Building, and, speaking
in a marquee in Northampton, to theoldest debating society in England.
Despite being held in central London on a
Friday night, The Transport Museum
event was very well received and had widesocial media coverage. The organisers
said they only had to put news of the gintalk up on their website and the tickets
sold out.
The Guild does not charge for these talks
but, when presenting to commercialorganisations etc. asks for a donation.

Attendees took a journey through the longand chequered history of gin, from its
medicinal roots, through the 18th Century
Gin Craze, and up to today’s gin
resurgence. Nicholas Cook presented a
guide to the history of the spirit and the
key role played by London distillers in thedevelopment of gin as we know it today.
His talk was augmented by the tasting ofeight gins chosen from Guild members toshow progression and trends in the historyof gin.

This event raised over £1,200 for thedrinks industry charity, helping those inhard times, as well as providing education
bursaries and awards for new entrants tothe industry. This year similar talks haveraised in excess of £2,000.
My thanks to Guild members Dr Anne
Brock and Tom Hills, and to Sarah Cook,for their assistance in pouring almost
2,000 tasting samples that night. Thanks
also to Tom for answering technicalquestions from the surprisingly
knowledgeable audience”.
A very pleasing response from theaudience, with several post event
enquiries. The venue reported “All of our
feedback from visitors has been hugely
appreciative”.

The Gin Guild is the trading name of The Gin Guild Limited
VAT Number: 155 1522 31 Company Number: 08148932
Registered Office: 1 The Sanctuary Westminster Abbey Parliament Square London SW1P 3JT

Members
NewsletterP r o m o t i n g E X C E L L E N C E I N G I N D I S T I L L AT I O NIssue 8
November 2015

Mansion House Installation Friday 16th October 2015
This year’s Mansion House Guild
Installation was, as usual, a spectacular
event. Ninety attended the Installation.
The gin and tonic offering before and thegin and cocktail bar afterwards are always
popular. Twenty new members joinedfrom the UK and from as far afield as theUSA, Canada, Mexico, Lichtenstein and
Norway.
Guild membership now stands at 149,
with members representing many othersin the industry via their companies andbrands. Full details, along with an article
on the award to Desmond Payne, are set
out in the event Order of Service (a copyof which is circulated to members withthis newsletter).

The Guild also welcomed new Grand
Rectifier Martin Riley, who will hold therole for the next two years. He gaveformal thanks to the inaugural holder,
Christopher Hayman. Christopher
continues as Board Chair, so he has not
fully escaped. His experience in theindustry and as a past Master of theLivery has been invaluable to ensuringthat the Guild got off on a firm footing.
Christopher was presented with a gilt
version of the Guild sprig which hepromises to wear at all formal Guild andlivery functions, and with a photo album
summarising key stages in the first three
years of the Guild.

company, the Worshipful Company ofDistillers, at their Annual Banquet, which
followed the Guild Installation. Food andwine was sublime as ever.
An extensive range of delightful
photographs of previous events areavailable in the members only section of
the website.

Members of the Guild and their guests
were also delighted to join our parent

New WardensLife Time Achievement Award

Amongst the new members installed in October, the Guild
welcomed as Warden members Eugeni Brotons, the marketing
director of González Byass S.A. (London No.1 gin) and Stephen
Gould, our first US Warden. Stephen is based in Colorado, andproduces two award winning gins. He is currently planning andbuilding a larger distillery.
Details of both Wardens
can be found in the
October Order of Service.

After the Gin Guild’s Annual Autumn Installation, “Mr Beefeater”
Desmond Payne, was presented with a Gin Guild Lifetime
Achievement Award in celebration of his outstanding work andsuccess in the industry.
This prestigious award has only been presented to two otherindustry figures in the past three years. It was awarded toDesmond during the banquet, by the Master of the Worshipful
Company of Distillers, Allan Cheesman and The Gin Guild’s new
Grand Rectifier, Martin Riley.
The award citation reflected not only his work at Chivas Brothers/
Pernod Ricard, but also the help, mentoring and support that
Desmond has generously given to so many in the industry.

Spirit Summit
Nicholas Cook

The Guild was given a keynote slot for the
Director General to speak at the Spirit Summit
Conference 2015, organised by the Morning
Advertiser and headline sponsor Diageo. He
spoke about the gin craze, the opportunities forretailers in a crowded category, rising interestin artisan distillers and where the on-trade canmaximise current trends.

In a casual aside, which evoked a bizarre seriesof comments on twitter, Nicholas told theaudience that he was pretty ambivalent aboutbrioche. The really sad element for all present,
and his reason for starting his talk with such an
unusual reference, was the protestors illinformed reference and antipathy to ‘so called’
pop up gin bars!

Happily, the whole conference; speakers andattendees, seemed to be very pro gin, so wewere pushing at an open door.
Delegates, having been served a generous dietof positive gin statistics from several previous
speakers, avoided an extra helping of similar
data from Nicholas. They seemed to enjoy his,seemingly off message, opening rant against a
recent vicious mob attack on a fashionable partof East London, when more than a thousandpeople gathered to protest gentrification.
The rioters targeted a trendy cafe that sells
breakfast cereals from around the world. The
protest was organised by the so-called ‘Class
War’ group. A spokesman said: ‘Our
communities are being ripped apart. We don’t
want luxury flats that no one can afford, wewant genuinely affordable housing. We don’t
want POP UP GIN BARS, or brioche buns, wewant community!’

London Cocktail Week
On Thursday of London Cocktail Week
the Guild hosted our major event, theMake Mine A Martini presentation, with
Jared Brown and Anastasia Miller as
presenters. This was a trade only event
intended to showcase brands to media, tobar owners and bar staff, and also to key
Government representatives who are
doing much at the moment to promoteand facilitate gin exports.
The attendance was limited, as it was aseated and kit heavy event, with aplanned hands-on Martini making
opportunity. We had to turn many away,
but never fear, the event was filmed andthe entertaining footage is up on the Gin
Guild website. Tell your colleagues about
this and other educational Gin Guild film
website footage.
The venue (Gillrays gin bar in theWestminster Marriott) was ideal, and thestaff were very helpful and enthusiastic.
We can recommend the view and theirextensive gin selection.
The event went as well as 60 people and70 bottles of gin and 12 of vermouth cango, with excited people from the drinks
trade making multiple drinks! Very noisy,
and with occasional scenes of chaos.
What’s not to like?

Had those people no knowledge of London’s
great history? Had they no knowledge of theintegral part that gin has played in the culture
and development of this fine nation? Had they
not heard of the Gin Craze of the 1700’s, when
gin was THE original urban drug, numbing
thousands to the squalor and deprivation ofunderclass life! At that time it was estimatedthat you could buy gin at one in four properties
in London – now THAT WAS a pop up gin bar
culture! That was true community spirit indeed!

The spirits business Distillery Awards 2016
The past few years have seen distilleries across the globe, both
new and old, open their doors in response to the ever increasing
consumer interest, not only in what they are drinking but also inthe processes behind their chosen spirit. Through participation
in tours, tastings and educational sessions, interest in distilleries
have never been higher. They have now become incredibly
successful tourist attractions as well as sustainable businesses.
It is in response to this that the spirits business have launchedtheir Distillery Award. The aim is to recognise innovation and
excellence, reflecting the innovation and strategies distilleries
are now using as part of their business plans. Judging will be by apanel of leading spirits and on-trade specialists, independentjudges, unconnected to any brand. The judging categories
include: Consumer Experience, Distillery Innovation, Digital andSocial Media, Distillery services, and Green
Award. Details can be found at
www.thespiritsbusiness.com.
The closing
deadline forentry is 4th
December 2015.

Craft Distilling Expo – Distillery of theYear
London-based distillers Sipsmith have been awarded the firstDistillery of the Year award by London's Craft Distilling Expo.
The award is given for outstanding achievement in distilling andrecognises the contribution that Sipsmith have made to the
distilling community.

“Sipsmith were true pioneers when they set up in 2008. The
distilling scene was very different than it is today. With theirdestination distillery originally in whisky expert MichaelJackson’s old office, they got the public to start asking not justhow, but where their spirit is made. That’s huge and I’m sure it’sa significance that Michael would have appreciated.” Bill Owens,
American Distilling Institute, Co-founder Craft Distilling Expo.

Craft Distilling Expo
Now in its third year, London's Craft
Distilling Expo brings together Craft
Distillers, Suppliers, Equipment Makers,
Professionals and Enthusiasts to discuss,
experience and celebrate the worldwide
renaissance in Craft Distillation. Over the
7th & 8th of October, more than 300
conference participants joined 23
exhibitors from the UK, Austria, China,
France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy,
Portugal and the USA.
An accompanying two day curated
programme of 27 talks and masterclasses,
by specialists in their field, covered topics
as wide-ranging as starting a distillery, toMember authorised use
Guild logos – newdownloadable logos
Members have asked whether they canrefer to, or use, Guild membership and/or
Guild logos in their promotional
materials. The answer isyes, but withapproved use andspecified logos
only. Full details
are set out in themembers-onlyarea. We have now
provided
downloads of thelogos.

long-lost spirits, as well as offsite
workshops at the Cotswolds Distillery andthe Bermondsey Distillery.
Held in Old Truman Brewery’s Grade II
Listed Boiler House, the six stainless steel
and copper stills, presented by their
suppliers, contrasted with the Victorianbrick, iron and tiled building, and the
myriad displays of glass bottles contained
within it.
Exhibitors also included leading distillingengineering firms, and suppliers andproducers of raw materials, including
yeast and natural cork.

Christopher Wren gin
The Lord Mayor of London formallylaunched the new city of London
Distillery gin in October. Named inhonour of Sir Christopher Wren, thefamous architect who transformed thecity of London and who designed St
Paul’s Cathedral. It is sold in a stunningbottle, reflecting the dome of St Paul’s.
The gin is a coproduction
between retired
Tanqueray masterdistiller Tom
Nichol and theCity of London
Distillery.

The Gin Guild attended and provided
delegates with a tasting and discussion
opportunity, presenting a number of craft
gins from members.

Press and Social Media – your brands,
your story
The Guild has received a steady stream of press and media
enquiries from the industry press, and from mainstream papers
such as the Daily Telegraph and the Wall Street Journal, as wellas our first TV enquiry. Most enquiries were about the spirit andthe growing number of gins, but we have also responded to
topical news items, such as the juniper fungus story and the‘What is craft?’ story.
If your brand has a story or news item, do make sure that it isprovided to the Guild, with a photo if relevant, to be posted on
the Guild social media pages so that we have topical news in
response to media enquiries. We now have over 2,000 twitter
followers and regularly get almost 3,000 monthly hits on the
Guild website and Facebook account.
If we do not have your story, we cannot help promote it. Pleasealso make sure that your brands are up to date on our website.
Speak to Nicholas Cook if the details need changing or supplying.

Competitions;the good the bad and the ugly
There are a growing number of competitions. An award or a
medal can be a valuable marketing tool, especially for smaller
brands, but there are a number of awards to choose from. We aretrying to build up a database of competitions, deadlines andentry fees.

Gin Data and CGA
At Guild instigation, a number of members
have been canvassed by CGA Strategy, a leading
research consultancy in the food industry.
This occured as a consequence of comments by members who
expressed difficulty in finding reliable data in a timely fashion.
The brief was to provide members, including those without
specialist data interpretation skills, with relevant gin-based datawith a commentary. Enclosed with this newsletter, please see theproposals put forward by CGA. Various levels of detail are offeredat differing prices. If anyone is interested in the proposedmaterials please contact Mr Loudon, as soon as possible.
graeme.loudon@cgastrategy.co.uk 0161 4768382 / 077 3693 7273
With many members now looking to or already exporting, CGA
confirm that they are also likely to be able to provide a similar
package for France & Germany and hopefully also for the US in
Q1 next year. Other key countries are also under consideration.
CGA say they would have to cost these differently, as different
datasets will be available, but are happy to deal with these as
they come through.
We are continuing to look at other offerings and sources of
information which may be of benefit to members. Suggestions
and feedback from members is always useful.

DEFRA WSTA re Gin Trail
The Gin Guild supplied Defra with key
distillery and bar information for London,
reminding them that gins are also madeoutside London, and that some distilleriesalso provide visitor destinations. We drew
their attention to our interactive distillery
maps on our website.

If you have entered competitions or are aware of competitions
please drop us an email with details (including Award host name,category, website, closing date and cost). If members have any
additional views as to the validity, or benefit, or difficulty ofentry, or cost of entry, please also pass these on to the Guild andwe can note them anonymously on the competition database.

Interactive distillery mapping (UK)WSTA has published a London gin trail map of its own. We will
hopefully be working with WSTA on expanding this work and onother co-operating projects.

We are revising our initial mapping,which was prepared when working with
Visit England. This is now expanded to
the UK as a whole.
Please let Nicholas Cook have details ofyour distillery location and, if relevant,the visitor arrangements in order thatthese can be added. Look at the current
entries for examples.

Dates for your diary
The 2016 Gin Industry Dinner will beheld in London on 26 May 2016. Please
note that numbers are limited to 100. We
were fully booked in 2015, so, if you areconsidering a large party or any
sponsored installations, please notify the
Director General as soon as possible inorder that spaces can be reserved.
Bookings, when the details of the menu
and price are circulated, will otherwise be
on a first come first served basis. A larger
venue may be considered for future years
depending on take up.

The 2016 Industry Ginposium (tradeand industry technical event) will be heldon 12 May 2016 in London. If you have a
topic or a speaker that you wish to beconsidered for a half hour slot please let
Nicholas know as soon as possible, as theitinerary will be settled within the next
few weeks, to allow for promotion early in2016. Filmed footage of previous events ison the web site (including the 2015 eventin the members only area) for reference
so please advise colleagues and staff.

The Annual City Spirits Debate hosted
by the Worshipful Company of Distillers
is to be held on the evening of the 12
May 2016. The topic is craft distilling
related, which will no doubt be of interest
to many. All Guild members as well as
attendees to the Ginposium will be
invited to attend, as a follow-on event (orstand alone).

UK Trade & Investment

UKTI USAUK Trade & Investment’s food & drink team has recently been
flying the flag for the British gin industry in the USA. We havebeen speaking to UKTI, both home and abroad, regarding
member gins and are now clearly on their radar and vice-versa.
In October, UKTI sent US 3 bloggers through the iAmbassador
programme to the UK to visit a number of distilleries and meet
representatives of their brands. Matt Long landlopers.com,
Kate McCulley adventurouskate.com and Rachelle Lucasrachellelucas.com travelled to different parts of England, Scotland
and Northern Ireland to meet the makers, create content andincrease awareness of British gin (including our Cocktail Week
Martini event). See more on their blogs and social media pages#GREATBritishSpirit.
Building on the buzz this created, later in October UKTI hosted
US trade development visits for 10 UK gin distilleries. Comprisingof liquor store and bar visits, a panel session on the 3 tier system,and tasting events in New York and Los Angeles, the events
attracted importers, distributors, retailers, bars and press.
The participating companies; including several Guild members
and pending members, were: Arbikie, London No 3 (Berry Bros
Rudd), Burlington (Rokeby's), Caorunn, Cotswolds, Indian
Summer, Rock Rose Gin (Dunnet Bay), Eden Mill, Glasgow
Distillery, Langley's, Liverpool Gin, Martin Miller’s, NB Gin,
Portobello Road, Quintessential Brands, Shortcross, Sipsmith,
Strathearn, Strathleven, The Shetland Distillery and Warner
Edwards, Whitley Neill.

UKTI Spain 3 December 2015

UKTI China

UKTI Spain is organising a webinar on Food & Drink on 3
December at 10:00, UK time. If you are considering entering the
Spanish market, you may want to join in.

The Gin Guild provided some member details to UKTI, enablingthem to respond to a Chinese gin purchasing enquiry for a large
hotel chain. We have continued to liaise with UKTI regarding
their activities in this area, including a UKTI hosted tradedevelopment in Shanghai in mid November. There are further
plans for late 2016.

The link to register is https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/
3681820608956396033

WSTA
As mentioned earlier, we are working
with WSTA to ensure that members ofboth organisations are aware of the roles
and objectives of each other. The roles areof course complimentary. The Guild is not
and was never intended as a lobbying,
enforcement or technical body, as others
have these roles, notably WSTA. Theirwebsite sets out
what they do, but the
key areas include:
Policy work, on a wide range ofbusiness, social responsibility,
regulatory and technical issues. This
ensures that the industry can play its
part in the UK’s economic growth andaims to shape an environment inwhich the sector can increase
investment and remain competitive.
WSTA works on current and proposed
regulations to ensure that the voice of
the industry is heard.
Campaigning successfully for excise
duty reductions;Media enquiries and industry research
Promotion of the responsible
production, marketing and sale ofalcohol and support of initiatives topromote the responsible consumptionof alcohol and initiatives to reduce
alcohol related harm.

Guild members who are not WSTA
members may wish to consider joining.
Membership brings access to a number ofservices and resources that they may findinvaluable. These include the latest
regulations on labelling and advancewarning and advice on legislation andregulation, such as the HMRC alcohol
wholesaler registration scheme which will
impact on members.
WSTA members also get their voices
heard in responses to Government
consultations which affect the industry.
For those who export, the WSTA provides
help with understanding overseas
markets and opportunities to promote
their products.
Guild members who join this month (andwho mention this newsletter and Guild
membership) will benefit from WSTA
membership until the end of 2016 for the
price of just 12 months at 2015, rather
than 2016 rates.
The Guild role is very different. It aims torepresent the gin industry as a whole,including extensive membership from thewider gin distilling industry. It aims topromote the gin category across theglobe, enhancing its image and widening
its appeal to worldwide consumers. It

brings together gin distillers and industry
leaders involved in the production,
promotion, distribution and consumptionof gin and promotes and encourages
commitment to excellence in gin
distillation and industry custodianship of
the spirit category.
The networking and social interaction
between Guild members and the peer
recognition of their mutual roles in thegin industry have been particularly
beneficial to members. Together with thehighly regarded annual education
seminar series, and the promotion of the
sprit to consumers, media and other third
parties, via the Guild website and via
consumer and similar talks and lectures,and the Guild’s social media coverage.
The Guild is the natural home of Gininnovation, including new start-ups andcraft distillers and craft distilled gin. It
provides a valued forum for all those
involved in gin production, sales,
marketing and distribution.

1897 Quinine Gin

SMALL ADS We have received several requests to pass offers on to members.

Congratulations to member Ben Ellefsen
for his new gin, released earlier this year,
in support of the charity Malaria No
More. 1897 Quinine Gin supports Malaria
No More UK by donating over half of theirprofit (at least £5 on every bottle sold) to
Malaria No More UK, helping to achieve
their vision of a malaria-free world.
Malaria is one of the world’s biggest
preventable killers and a major cause ofpoverty in Africa.

Make your label stand out from the crowd

Malaria No More
UK is part of a
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The Digital Print for Brand Success conference,organized by Digital Labels & Packaging
Magazine, takes place on 18th November in
London. This event provides an opportunity tohear how to achieve real stand out appeal foryour labels. Digital is geared towards shortruns and customization so you can give yourcustomers a tailored one off look or change
the content of the label at will!
‘As a start-up company with limited funding,
Brighton Gin were looking for real stand-out
appeal to make the launch of this new producta success. Hear how working with AJS Labels
and their cutting edge digital printing was theperfect solution, helping to gain new
customers such as Harvey Nichols and Mastersof Malt.’
Other speakers include: Trevor Sorbie, M&S,
Retail Institute, plus printers who are experts
in using digital print creating the best labels
for your gin.
Digital Print for Brand Success, November
18th, Kings Place, Kings Cross, London. Fullprogramme available on www.dlpmag.com via
the conference section.

And finallyThank you to those who have supported the
Guild and its events to date. We look forward to
your continuing support. Please let us have ideas
for future newsletters (and the website), such as
the development of new products, or the trials

As a special offer GIN GUILD members areoffered a special delegate rate at£150 pounds per delegate or £250 for 2
delegates (offer ends October 30th).
Contact Chloe Ward on 01892 779599 oremail chloe.w@whitmar.co.uk
New (mini) still for sale
Hungarian company AGYÓ Kereskedelmi és
Szolgáltató Kft have written offering a rangeof still products, together with a special onetime offer for their 150 L universal still,currently located at a warehouse in London.
lajos.teleki@hagyokft.hu www.hagyo.hu
www.hagyodistilling.com
Stainless Containers
Delta Containers (Manchester) supply IBC
containers (1000 litre Intermediate Bulk
Containers) and stainless steel tanks for the
distillery industry. They have more than 30
years’ experience. Contact Floor Harreman,0161 231 2875 Floor.H@deltacontainers.com
www.deltacontainers.com

and tribulations of a new start up, or any othergin related items that may be of interest to
members.
Email articles of not more than 100 words, witha picture where available tonicholas.cook@theginguild.com