For decades, total gin volume in the U.S., at least among the top ten brands by volume, has been trickling down. From a modern-day high of 11.74 million cases in 1995, gin landed at 9.19 million cases last year, according to Impact Databank—a volume loss of 2% from 2021. This translated to decreases for almost every major brand as well, some by double-digits. But that scenario misses the real picture: Super-premium brands are fanning the flames of growth, especially with flavored line extensions made from site-specific botanicals. Over the past seven years, the top ten super-premium gins have grown a collective 15.1%, reaching 1.19 million cases last year—up from just 361,000 cases in 2015. 

Increasingly, these super-premium brands are eyeing provenance, making gin a spirit that tells a story of its terroir. While the category was once relegated largely to just one style—London Dry—there are now smaller craft labels popping up all over the globe, offering up new botanicals and flavor profiles. Cocktail trends, too, continue supporting the category, and many brands believe a stronger presence on drink menus and partnerships with mixologists will encourage a return to growth.

London Calling

London Dry gins are among the most recognizable in the world, buoyed by such long-standing legacy brands as Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, and Beefeater, as well as newer labels like Sipsmith and The Botanist. While it originally hailed from England, the style is no longer tied to a location (variants now come from the greater UK and the U.S.), but more so to its flavor profile: London Dry gins are perennially heavy on juniper. Among the oldest London Dry gins is Tanqueray ($24 a 750-ml.), a 200-year-old brand. While Tanqueray experienced growth from 2020 to 2021, the label lost some momentum last year, falling 3.5% to 1.4 million cases in the U.S in 2022, according to Impact Databank. 

Despite losing some ground, Tanqueray has stayed top-of-mind by expanding outside of its original London Dry bounds. The brand first launched Tanqueray Rangpur Lime ($25 a 750-ml.), a gin made with Rangpur lime, ginger, and bay leaves, among other botanicals, in 2006. This was followed more recently by Sevilla Orange ($24) in 2020, a similarly vibrant, citrus-forward expression inspired by Seville oranges and Mediterranean flavors. “Sevilla Orange falls within the growing flavored gin category and has traditionally seen stronger sales in the summer months, particularly August,” says Christina Choi, Diageo North America’s senior vice president of gin, Tequila, and rum. “Now more than ever, gin consumers are differentiating and appreciating distinct flavor profiles found in varying styles of gin.” 

Another London Dry stalwart, Bombay Sapphire ($34 a 750-ml.) debuted Premier Cru ($35), a citrus-forward expression of its own, just this past February. While the new gin falls in line with the growing flavored gin trend, that wasn’t Bombay’s primary purpose in creating it. “Normally when you create a gin, you look to use an unusual botanical or address a need or gap in the market, or you’ve got a cocktail that you want to highlight; we didn’t do any of that with Premier Cru,” says Bombay Sapphire master distiller Dr. Anne Brock. “We came at it purely from the point of view of wanting to tell the stories of our growers, some of whom we’ve worked with for over 25 years.” 

Premier Cru is made with late-harvest Murcian lemons from Spain; as a smaller batch gin than the original Bombay, Premier Cru will be vintage-dated each year. While Murcian lemons go into the flagship gin, there are four times more in this new expression, which is also joined by citrusy kicks of Mandarin and sweet oranges. “Obviously, we normally balance out the lemon flavors in Bombay Sapphire,” says Brock. “But for Premier Cru, we wanted them to shine, and unbalance that balance.” By growth terms, the Bacardi-owned brand beat out some of its closest competitors last year, shooting up 6.9%—making it one of only three of the top ten gin brands to experience growth—to 1.3 million cases. 

As major brands like Tanqueray and Bombay Sapphire look beyond juniper-heavy labels to turn tides, some smaller, super-premium London Dry gins are in major growth mode. From Canada, Milestone Brands’ Empress 1908 gained a whopping 40% last year to reach 92,000 cases, and now firmly sits as the No.-2 gin above $25 in the market. The Botanist from Rémy Cointreau is also gaining market share, shooting up 24.6% to 79,000 cases in 2022 and more than tripling its volume since 2018. While both brands are coming from smaller bases, their growth can be attributed to turning the tides on traditional London Dry styles just a bit. For its part, Empress 1908 ($39 a 750-ml.) adds a signature black tea blend (served at the Empress Hotel) and butterfly pea blossom to its traditional botanical makeup—imparting an herbal earthiness to the gin, as well as a striking indigo color that lends itself well to the mixology scene. The Botanist ($40), meanwhile, is a dry gin made on the Scottish island of Islay from 22 locally foraged botanicals. “Consumers are loving the quality innovation of the craft gin movement,” Milestone Brands CEO Eric Dopkins says, noting that Empress 1908 has a new expression in the works. “There’s so much upside to come.”

Provenance Plays

As the London Dry players expand outward from their overtly juniper-forward flavors, gins made elsewhere in the world are perfecting their unique botanical blends and telling stories about their surroundings. While Pernod Ricard has stake in London Dry with Beefeater, it’s also present in more localized craft gin through Monkey 47 and Malfy. “Consumers are interested in provenance when it comes to gin but they aren’t triggered or skeptical when they learn that the gin they’re drinking was produced at a distillery in a ‘non-traditional’ gin market,” says Kerri Owen, brand director for both Monkey 47 and Malfy. “Knowledgeable wine and whisk(e)y consumers can be finicky about provenance and be very partial to a region or country, but gin provenance is really exciting—playing a key role in the brand’s storytelling or ingredient list and production process.” She points to Monkey 47’s ($40 a 750-ml) botanical makeup—all of its botanicals are hand-picked, with one-third coming from the Black Forest—as well as its production, in which the gin is distilled using artisanal techniques and Black Forest spring water. 

Pernod’s other gin, Malfy ($30 a 750-ml.), hails from Sicily and includes Originale, a dry style of gin that’s infused with Italian lemons for a site-specific twist, as well as three citrus-forward expressions. “The use of local botanicals gives a real flavor of the region the gin is from, which is especially apparent in our Malfy Con Arancia,” says Owen. “That gin has real Sicilian blood oranges that only come from Sicily—enjoying this gin transports you there.” The remaining gins in the Malfy lineup are Con Limone and Gin Rosa, which make use of Amalfi lemon peel and Sicilian pink grapefruit, respectively. 

Scotland-based Hendrick’s ($35 a 750-ml.), meanwhile, has long been a leader of the provenance charge. Owned by William Grant & Sons, Hendrick’s jumped 10.4% last year to 587,000 cases, making it the market’s top-ranked gin above $25, according to Impact Databank. The brand continues to lead the innovation charge, with releases like Neptunia ($40). Debuted last year, Neptunia is a blend of Scottish coastal botanicals—the brand’s distillery is located just two miles from the sea in Girvan, Scotland—and part of master distiller Lesley Gracie’s Cabinet of Curiosities. “The Cabinet of Curiosities— which serves as Lesley Gracie’s laboratory, where she is free to let her imagination roam and experiment with all manner of oddities—is where the magic happens,” says Hendrick’s national ambassador Vance Henderson. 

The line also includes Midsummer Solstice and Lunar gins. The former is infused with natural floral essences, making it a far fruitier take on the classic Hendrick’s cucumber-and-rose flavors, while the latter is inspired by floral botanicals that become more fragrant at night. This year’s Cabinet of Curiosities extension is Flora Adora ($40). “Flora Adora was inspired by the endless fascination Lesley has for watching butterflies, bees, and other nectar-loving pollinators at play in her garden in Scotland,” Henderson notes. With its core label and myriad innovations, Hendrick’s currently accounts for about half of the volume for upscale gin imports. 

Maison Ferrand’s Citadelle ($30 a 750-ml.) brand, a pioneer in French gin, is also making waves in the high-end space with innovation beyond traditional botanicals. The brand, which grew 12% in 2022, according to Impact Databank, reaching 78,000 cases, debuted a new limited-edition line last year called “Les Exentriques.” The line meant to highlight new flavors in gin, including cornichon—French for pickle ($30 a 750-ml.). 

Like Hendrick’s and Citadelle, Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin ($35 a 750-ml.), made in County Leitrim, Ireland, focuses on its terroir. The brand, which is imported by Palm Bay International, sources botanicals from not just Ireland, but eight other countries, all of which were visited and explored by Drumshanbo founder PJ Rigney. 

Drumshanbo’s two flavor extensions, Sardinian Citrus and California Orange Citrus, take a slightly more focused approach, sourcing citrus from Sardinia and California, respectively, for their zesty flavors. “Consumers are interested in brand stories, so provenance is important,” says Dave Singh, marketing director of spirits at Palm Bay International. “It has certainly been a selling point for us as our brands are from around the globe.” 

To that end, Palm Bay also markets Gracias a Dios from Mexico and Tommyrotter, a New York-based gin. The former uses Espadín agave as its mash base, and now has four expressions, one of which is the Oaxaca Recipe, a gin made from eight macerated botanicals, with seven coming from the namesake region (Gracias a Dios retails for $30 a 750-ml.). The resultant flavor balances avocado, yerba sante, and juniper with a touch of agave. Tommyrotter ($35), meanwhile, focuses on American gin—its flagship expression is made from a mashbill of 100% corn and vapor-infused with 12 botanicals sourced from the U.S., all resulting in a fuller mouthfeel. “Consumers are looking for more complexity in their gins beyond the juniper heavy profiles of the past, and are seeking out more unique characteristics that lend themselves to different drinking occasions,” notes Singh. 

An entirely new gin coming to retail shelves and backbars later this summer is Four Corners. Co-founded by industry heavyweights Christian Krogstrad (previously of Aviation gin), Gary McLoughlin (formerly of Glendalough Distillery), and Dr. Elizabeth McElligott, Four Corners hopes to bring American gin back into the fore. “Everything in this gin is actually from the U.S.; all the botanicals don’t occur anywhere else,” says Krogstad. “There are American gins out there, but we asked ourselves if there’s a gin that’s from all over the U.S., that give people the taste of the country, which has such a diverse, incredible terroir. We believe ours is the first that truly does just that.” Among the 11 total botanicals in Four Corners, which were narrowed down from a pool of 400, are Oregon juniper, Maine cranberry, California poppy, osha root, and spikenard. Four Corners is also targeting that prime super-premium price point at around $40 a 750-ml.

Cocktail Culture

Though there are differences aplenty amongst gin brands, what they all have in common is a reliance on cocktails and mixologists in driving brand awareness. “One of the key drivers contributing to the current growth of our gins is continual interest in cocktail making,” says Pernod Ricard’s Owen. “Our industry noticed that the pandemic ushered in an increased interest in making and enjoying more involved, complex cocktails at home—drinks that utilize more than one spirit, the use of fresh ingredients and juices, and experimentation with bottle choices that bartenders have worked with for decades, such as bitters, vermouths, aperitifs, and gins.” Owen points to Monkey 47 as a particularly great option for cocktails that traditionally call for one ounce or less of gin, such as a Negroni or French 75, given the brand’s higher proof—it clocks in at 47% abv. 

Speaking of the Negroni, it continues to be a tide that raises all ships, including at retail. “A Negroni being an equal-parts cocktail with a lot of flexibility among base spirits and other ingredients accessible to a home bar is a cocktail that’s easy to push off-premise,” says Clayton Danielson, a brand manager of bitters label Luxardo. “We try to do that both with point-of-sale— whether it’s shelf talkers or neck hangers—or working with accounts to get that cocktail merchandised, so we can sell a gin next to a bitter next to a vermouth. We’re seeing a lot of retailers understand the importance of merchandising this simple serve, as it works better to sell across categories in a cocktail bundle.” 

Other classic cocktails are also shining the spotlight on gin. “Our Premier Cru is definitely a premium offering from Bombay Sapphire and it does have a huge on-trade focus, because bartenders love making great Martinis,” says Brock. “This lends itself perfectly to cocktails, and I’ve really enjoyed it in a French 75 as well, which is a great cocktail because it’s quite simple to make—the ingredients are basic, but it always feels like such a celebration. And of course, let’s not forget about the Gin & Tonic.” 

With its vibrant color, Empress 1908 gin has become entrenched in the cocktail scene. Dopkins notes that the brand’s unique response to each ingredient of a cocktail makes it a favorite for bartenders—at home or on-premise. “With its distinctive attributes, Empress is bringing non-gin drinkers into the category,” he says. “Empress can make a simple cocktail into a more complex treat.” The brand promotes its own version of the classic French 75, and also markets twists on other classic cocktails like the Martini. 

Of course, gin has a place in specialty cocktails as well. “Gin is so great in cocktails—it shines,” says Krogstad of Four Corners. “There’s such versatility from a cocktail point of view when it comes to gin, and when we were developing Four Corners, we wanted it to be fantastic in certain cocktails, where it’ll really jump out and you can taste it.” His co-founder McLoughlin adds that while Four Corners is fantastic in a Gin & Tonic, the brand will be launching a cocktail program of its own, highlighting variations on drinks like the Negroni and Bee’s Knees. While there may be an uphill battle for the most voluminous of gins, there’s certainly success to be had from their craft counterparts, who are drawing consumers into the fold with tales of their terroir and plenty of unique flavor.