Hamish Smith looks at the brands that sell best in the bestselling spirits categories in the UK's best bars.
For all those trend analysts out there who forecast gin’s decline, gin is still in. And it’s still in where it matters – the best bars in the UK. A third of our sample said the juniper-propelled spirit was their top seller – more than any other. That means big business and that also means Beefeater.
In our sample of bars, just under a third said Pernod Ricard’s classic London Dry was the bestseller, while just over 40% said it was among their top-two gin serves. Respondents said it was a popular choice as house pour for spirit-mixer serves such as the G&T, but the brand finds its way into its fair share of cocktail listings too.
Diageo’s Tanqueray – and, for the purposes of our poll, that includes Tanqueray Ten – came second. According to our poll it was far less likely to be the bestseller – 16% – than Beefeater, but interestingly it was marginally more likely to be among a bar’s top-three gins. Could it be that Tanqueray is less concerned with the house as much as it is cocktail inclusion? Certainly, a number of bars cite Tanqueray Ten as their Dry Martini gin.
Bacardi’s Bombay, meanwhile, was a strong third. Its Bombay Sapphire wins a lot of contracts, finding its way to the speed rail and listings on cocktail menus. For the Dry Martini, it has Bombay Premier Cru. 13% of bars said Bombay was their bestselling, while just over a quarter made it part of their top three. As one bartender pointed out, Bombay Sapphire’s bold blue looks still make it one of the category’s most recognisable bottles.
Here’s a cat among the pigeons – Portobello Road is the fourth bestselling gin in the UK’s best bars, beating flagship contenders from the big groups. Co-owned by Class Bar Awards Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Jake Burger, Portobello’s domestic market has always been key. The capital-produced London Dry was positioned well from the start – premium liquid, ordinary price. 10% of our polled bars said it was their bestseller, with 17% naming it as one of their top three.
This fight for the house ends about there. Not in one bar we polled was William Grant’s Hendrick’s the bestseller, yet in 22% it was the second or third most used. Hendrick’s was one of the first gins to imprint its point of difference on drinkers and remains a strong brand call. It might be that little too pricey to be your stock option, but it’s not collecting dust either.
Alongside Portobello, Boatyard is the other small brand punching big in this category. The priority for commercial director Declan McGurk is to win favour through production credentials and build the brand through cocktail listings. The Dry Martini is key. 16% of our sample said Boatyard gin was among their top three sellers and when we asked what gin bartenders are excited by most, the answer came back Boatyard more than any other.
Completing our list of bestsellers is Pernod Ricard’s historically significant Plymouth (a top-three gin in 14% of bars), it’s bountifully botanicalled Monkey 47 (13%) and the first-wave craft gin Sipsmith (10%), now owned by Suntory Global Spirits.