Survey: seven public opinions on gin

If you’ve ever wondered which gin brand consumers consider the “coolest” or whether people really care about the “craft” label, then you might find these recently gleaned public opinions insightful.

Gin Foundry’s new Ginfographic has produced some interesting insight relating to today’s gin market

The Gin Foundry – the world’s largest website dedicated to all things gin – has revealed the results from what is thought to be the largest gin survey ever conducted in the form of a “Ginfographic”.

The group surveyed 922 people over the course of two months, gleaning insight on everything from tonic water favourites to the preferred ratio of gin to tonic.

While “disproportionately represented” by the Gin Foundry audience, the survey was not paid for and was “open to all who wanted to enter”, however 76% of participants hailed from the UK.

Click through the following pages to discover seven public opinions on gin, derived from Gin Foundry’s Ginfographic 2015.

Coolest Brand

Gin has managed to shrug off its image as a drink enjoyed by the grandmas of the world and is now an undeniably “cool” spirit, particularly as the craft spirits movement continues its rapid growth. When given a choice of six “top selling” and “highest trending” gin brands, 29% of consumers selected Monkey 47 as the label they believed to be the “coolest”. Hailing from the Black Forest in Germany, Monkey 47 has long-been popular among bartenders and gained cult status among gin-loving consumers. In a different question, consumers overwhelmingly preferred Fever Tree to other leading tonic water brands.

Barrel-aged enthusiasm

After the Bottling Act was introduced by William Gladstone in 1861, gin producers were required to sell their wares in bottles as opposed to casks. Today’s spirits and bar scene has experienced a resurgence in barrel-aged gins, which boast a unique oak influence. According to Gin Foundry’s survey, the majority of consumers (26%) would like to see more experimentation in terms of barrel-aged gins in the year ahead, while 23% would prefer to see more “infused/fruit/flavoured gins and 22% are keen to see more navy strength bottlings. A further 18% would like to see more Old Tom variants and 11% more genever gins.

G&T brand preference

As consumers become more interested in cocktails and which specific spirits brands are suitable to them, Gin Foundry’s research showed that 56% of those surveyed said they always expect to be asked by bartenders which gin they would like in their G&T, while 46% said they would expect be asked this in top end bars only. Most of those surveyed (48%) said they would take it upon themselves to ask for a certain brand of gin at a bar. A total of 39% said they would occasional request this, and 11% said only when they are seeking a specific flavour profile.

Craft debate

In answer to the Gin Foundry’s question – what is the maximum amount of bottles created in one run for a gin to call itself “small batch”? – almost 300 people said less than 600 bottles. About 250 people said less than 1,200 bottles, 200 believed less than 800 bottles were appropriate, while 150 people said 400 bottles. When asked whether a “clearly defined set of criteria” should define whether a distiller produces “craft” gin, an overwhelming 69% said “yes”. For more information on what industry leaders believe constitutes craft, take a look at these 10 descriptions.

Preferred serve

Glassware is an increasingly important consideration for modern bars, but the majority of consumers (46%), prefer to gulp down their G&T from a traditional highball glass. In second place was the copita, which has grown in popularity as a result of the surge in Spanish-style G&Ts. The most popular gin to tonic ratio, meanwhile, was found to be three parts tonic to one part gin, which received 43% of the vote. Two parts tonic to one part gin was favoured by 38% of those surveyed, while a potent mix of equal parts gin and tonic were favoured by 10%.

Brand diversity

Of those surveyed, 35% said they own five to 10 bottles of gin; 30% own three to four bottles; 20% own more than 10; and 15% one or two. The most popular price category for gin purchases is £21-£29, which more than 350 people said they paid on average per bottle. Almost 250 people said they spend £30-£40, 100 people spend £16-£20 while only a small minority would spend either £5-£15 or more than £40.

Favourite gin cocktail

Despite the broad variety of gin cocktails out there, the traditional Gin and Tonic is the favourite serve among 60% of consumers. Next up were the classic Negroni and Martini cocktails, which captured 10% and 9% of the vote respectively. At the bottom of the spectrum sat the French 75 and Aviation. Meanwhile, most of those surveyed said their favourite Gin and Tonic garnish is a lime wedge.