Why is Gin Suddenly so Popular?

Gin is the drink everyone is enjoying these days but why? Walking down the alcohol aisle of supermarkets there is all kinds of gin on the shelves with all kinds of flavours, it seems to be the new trend at the moment. People can’t get enough of the stuff! So what happened to make Gin the cool drink on the block.

Well to start with it has become more accessible, not so long ago gin distilleries couldn't start business due to HMRC having a problem with distilleries producing small quantities, making it impossible for new businesses to start. However all of this changed when Sipsmith, a West London gin distillery won a historic legal battle with HMRC which lasted for 2 years! This gave distilleries the legal right to produce and sell gin in small quantities. Without the barrier of HMRC, independent gin makers appeared nationwide creating their own version of gin. In 2017 43 million bottles of gin were sold in the UK and there are now over 100 gin makers in the UK which in comparison to 2010 where there were only 37 shows how much of barrier HMRC were.

Due to all the competition gin makers had to come up with new concepts to separate them from the next gin maker. The great thing about gin is its extremely versatile, just the distilling process alone can create different flavours however flavours can also be added creating unbelievable results. Flavours like raspberry, strawberry and even cherry bakewell can be found in gin.

With all of these flavours added, gin can be used in cocktails as it's highly adaptable to make the perfect infusion. Cocktails were considered a rich person's drink for many years but since pubs and restaurants have placed them on the menu at a decent price it has increased in popularity. The popularity of cocktails and the adaptability of gin is a match made in heaven which has contributed to the popularity of gin.

So now we know why gin has exploded onto the scene and it looks like it’s here to stay with delicious results, with more and more flavours being released I wonder is a drink just a drink anymore? There are all kinds of gin available to make a boring drink incredible!

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Written by Oliver Partington - 07/05/2020