48 MARKET WATCH | MARKETWATCHMAG.COM | JUNE 2019
In Drumshanbo, Ireland, The Shed Distillery’s Drumshanbo
Gunpowder Irish gin ($35 a 750-ml.) similarly uses a combina-
tion of sourced botanicals and uncommon distillation practices
in its messaging. “There are 12 botanicals in Drumshanbo, and
eight of them go into the medieval copper pot still we use,
which is solely dedicated to gin production—it’s a very import-
ant part of the day-to-day brand,” says Pat Rigney, founder
and managing director at Drumshanbo. “We place major
emphasis on the combination of our global botanicals and on
how we actually distill.” Among the botanicals slow-distilled
in the copper pot stills are meadowsweet from Drumshanbo;
cardamom and caraway seed from India; juniper berries from
Macedonia; coriander seed from Romania; angelica root from
Germany; orris root from Morocco; and star anise from China.
Four additional botanicals—gunpowder tea and Chinese
lemon from China, oriental grapefruit from Indonesia, and
kaffir lime from Cambodia—are vapor-infused. Palm Bay
International added Drumshanbo to its artisanal spirits port-
folio in September 2017.While Brooklyn, New York-based Greenhook Ginsmiths
doesn’t use locally foraged botanicals, the distillery offers a
unique story through its use of vacuum distillation. “Our
300-liter copper pot still works under a vacuum, which allows
the gin to be distilled at a very low temperature by manipulat-
ing the amount of air pressure in the still,” says founder Steven
DeAngelo. “That prevents a lot of the more delicate botani-
cals from being cooked and stewed with excessive heat, and
creates a gin that’s bright, fragrant, and nuanced.” Greenhook’s
flagship American Dry gin ($34 a 750-ml.) features nine botan-
icals, including orris root, elderflower, and dried chamomile.
The distillery also offers a Beach Plum gin liqueur ($50),
featuring a base of American dry gin that’s re-distilled with
whole, locally sourced beach plums, as well as an Old Tom gin
($46), which is pot-distilled, cycled through a Bourbon barrel
solera system, and finished in oloroso Sherry casks. Across all
three expressions, the Greenhook portfolio—which came
under the TD Artisan Spirits umbrella in 2017—depleted
around 8,000 cases in 2018.
TOP TEN GIN BRANDS IN THE U.S.^1
(thousands of 9-liter cases)
Percent Change^2
Rank Brand Company 2016 2017 2018 2016-2017 2017-2018
1 Total Seagram’s Pernod Ricard USA 2,014 1,934 1,875 -4.0% -3.1%
Extra Dry 1,732 1,667 1,614 -3.7 -3.2
Twisted 254 239 234 -5.7 -2.2
Distiller’s Reserve 28 28 27 -2.2 -1.7
2 Total Tanqueray Diageo North America 1,373 1,376 1,385 0.2 0.7
Tanqueray 1,290 1,293 1,298 0.2 0.4
Rangpur 45 46 48 1.2 4.5
No. Ten 35 35 35 2.4 -0.2
Other Tanqueray^3 3 1 4 -47.9 +
3 Total Bombay Bacardi USA 1,182 1,123 1,134 -4.9 0.9
Sapphire 987 933 946 -5.4 1.3
Original 195 190 188 -2.5 -1.0
4 New Amsterdam E. & J. Distillers 695 670 670 -3.5 -
5 Gordon’s Diageo North America 547 520 495 -4.9 -4.9
6 Total Beefeater Pernod Ricard USA 472 467 443 -1.2 -5.1
Beefeater 468 463 435 -1.2 -6.1
Beefeater 24 4 4 3 -2.1 -16.0
Other Beefeater^4 * * 5 72.1 +
7 Hendrick’s William Grant & Sons USA 341 370 440 8.5 18.9
8 Barton Sazerac Co. 335 330 330 -1.5 -
9 Gilbey’s Beam Suntory Inc. 320 310 295 -3.0 -5.0
10 Burnett’s Heaven Hill Brands 275 255 241 -7.3 -5.5
Total Top Ten^5 7,553 7,356 7,308 -2.6 -0.6
Other Brands 2,012 1,974 1,972 -1.9 -0.1
Total Gin Market 9,565 9,330 9,280 -2.5% -0.5%* Less than 500 cases(^1) Includes flavors
(^2) Based on unrounded data
(^3) Includes Malacca, Old Tom, and Bloomsbury
(^4) Includes Pink, Burrough’s Reserve, and seasonals
(^5) Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding.
Source: IMPACT DATABANK ©2019