SB meets… Gina Duke, G&I Spirit Group

The spirits development director at G&I Spirit Group on how a background in the on-trade has given the new firm a distinctive point of difference.

Gina Duke, spirits development director at G&I Spirit Group

What are the origins of G&I Spirit Group?

It was born through the forward thinking of all its valued employees, and guided by its directors and founders through their experience of working in the nightclub, bar and restaurant business for many years.

How has your company’s background in the bar world informed how you develop and market spirits?

Customer service and genuine interaction is the way to upsell. To us, it is important to have the ability within the first five seconds of interaction with a customer to become the perfect economist/philosopher/ psychologist, not forgetting professional sales person, and be able to read their persona and body language. This is the key to securing a customer’s trust. A good bar server is undaunted, can create a vibrant and exciting atmosphere, and have the experience to customise a range of drinks suited to the client’s specific palate.

Where are your products made?

Our six SKUs have been made with three lines from the UK and three from Mexico. We painstakingly worked with master distillers to get the end result we wanted, matching not only our customer profile but also achieving our company product vision. It took almost two and a half years to go from concept to getting liquid in bottles. This result was super smooth and drinkable spirits that have no, or very little, burn.

Which of your spirits are you most excited by?

I have to say that 88 Vodka and Jillions Gin (named after our auntie who worked at Bletchley Park in World War II) are my favourite lines. Oh, and I can’t leave out the Chocolate Tequila.

Where are your products available?

They are available directly from our website and wholesale account. They are also available through nominated wholesalers such as Empire Drinks, Matthew Clark, Master of Malt and 31 Dover. We are focusing on venues owned by pub groups, but we aim to keep that exclusive element to our range.

What trends are driving the spirits industry forward?

New trends are always playing a big role in bars, clubs and restaurants, not forgetting the weekend BBQ. Spritz-style drinks have brought vibrant orange into the glass and this has been followed by blood orange gins and vodkas. The new infused vodkas that are sweeping the market can be nothing but good. With the culture of healthy living growing, the popularity of low-ABV drinks is set to continue. CBD and cannabis in alcohol is also definitely making a lot of noise. The market is slowly opening up but research and development is fast and furious. When the trend kicks off properly it has the ability to be industry-changing.

Are you developing any new products at the moment?

We are in the final stages of our research and development process only four months since we launched. Work is well under way for additions to our current range of super-premium vodka, gin and Tequila. New ages, styles and flavours will be coming out within the next two to three months and we are also developing with distillers across the world a range of beautiful rums, Cognacs, Scotch whiskies – including single malts and blends – and even a small batch of Portugal’s famous Medronho. Our aim is develop our business to 43-45 SKUs over the next three years.

How important is innovation to you?

We took almost 30 months working with master distillers to develop our six lines to the standard that we wanted. Getting away from the palate burn often detected in spirits presented quite a challenge. Our path is interesting, ever challenging, and there is a consistent buzz and high level of ambition to achieve truly great things. We’re on a great journey.

G&I Spirit Group was awarded a Master medal for its 88 Vodka in the recent Vodka Masters