J'AIME JANUARY 2020

THE LONDON
ESSENCE FRESH
SERVE DISPENSE
SYSTEM
dipping their toes into white rums and visa versa,
with banana, pineapple and other tropical tasting
rums looking to entice the flavoured gin drinker, as
well as traditional rum-producing areas like South
America going the other way. Venezuelan Canaïma,
which I’m showcasing during Ginuary for example,
uses rainforest botanical ingredients that sound more
akin to an exotic Harry Potter spell: copuazu, merey
fruit, uve de Palma and açai berries (I feel a google
search coming on!).
Although I see an increase in canned tonic flavours
from the big brands, could a contemporary version
of the lamented tonic on the gun be making a
comeback? Judging by London Essence’s trials of
their draft tonic system serving five flavours of tonic
water - including the brand’s classic
Indian variant, rhubarb, elderflower,
grapefruit and cucumber - it could
be, with proposed nationwide
roll-out planned from February.
The attractive font is a fresh serve
dispense system infusing the brand’s
distilled botanicals into chilled tonic
water at the point of service. As
featured in a November article by
The Spirit Business, the system is
said to ensure freshness and flavour,
while reducing packaging by 96 per
cent, reducing fridge space lines and
allowing more flavour mixability
options.
I think there will be a general
increase in gin tourism in where gin
is not only created, but the brand’s
story gives localised provenance
as much as the ingredients. So like
real ale, creative use of locality
and production mean people like
The Warwickshire Gin Company
SOUTH AMERICAN CANAIMA
SMALL BATCH GIN
are setting up a bricks and
mortar unit in Leamington
Spa to include a visitor centre,
distilling experience, branded
merchandise, plus gift set
shopping as a destination onestop
immersive brand experience.
More discerning gin collecting
ginthusiasts are beginning to
look at alternative ways of
appreciating the spirit as a standalone
sipper, enjoyed - dare I say
it? - neat or in cocktail form. A
next generation gin subscription
service that’s sent in letterbox
form, NIO (which stands for
Needs Ice Only) is an early
example which sends perfectly mixed cocktails ready
to enjoy. Find out more at www.niococktails.co.uk
Finally one that’s close to my heart is ‘experiential’
gin tasting - not just home entertaining or
festivals, but a specific gin themed experience
in creative settings. My gin picnic will continue
to run throughout this year on the Birmingham
canal network - go to www.designmynight.com/
birmingham and search gin picnic - as well as on
steam trains and in retail format, with cinema and
unusual brand collaborations to bring you creative
and fun lifestyle ways to enjoy your favourite tipple.
It should make for an interesting start to the modern
roaring twenty20s era!
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