Craft Gin Club revamp shifts focus to spirits
UK-based Craft Gin Club has rebranded to The Curious Drinker, expanding its subscription service to other spirits.
Founded in 2015, Craft Gin Club provides a monthly box to UK subscribers, containing a full-sized bottle of gin alongside mixers, snacks and a magazine. It expanded beyond gin to offer rum boxes in 2020.
The business, which is backed by English entrepreneur Sarah Willingham, has now revealed a ‘bold new identity’.
Now known as The Curious Drinker, the subscription service aims to tap into the UK’s “growing multi-billion-pound premium spirits market”.
The rebrand comes as the “explosive growth” in gin has levelled, The Curious Drinker said, with “consumer interest in Tequila, whisky, rum and beyond accelerating”.
The gin category has struggled to grow in the UK – one of its biggest markets – in recent years. According to IWSR data shared during the Ginposium conference last year, the gin sector lost seven percentage points of UK spirits volume share between 2020 and 2024, while most other categories gained.
At its peak (the pre-pandemic year of 2019), gin represented approximately 22% of UK spirits consumption. Consumption is down by approximately 40% from its peak.
Recent preliminary IWSR data showed that gin volumes were flat in 21 markets last year. The category was up by 2% globally in 2024, but this was driven by emerging markets as the UK and the US declined.
The Curious Drinker has expanded to include a broader range of spirits, including trending categories and alcohol-free products.
There will also be new curated subscription options with different levels of exploration, alongside an expanded online shop that will feature limited edition products, cocktail sets and member-exclusive pricing.
The newly revamped business will also work on ‘retail-ready product development’.
Moving beyond gin
The intention is to turn The Curious Drinker into the “definitive home for spirits lovers across the UK”.
“We’ve always known our members were curious – curious about what’s in their glass, who made it, and what to try next,” said co-founder Jon Hulme.
“That spirit of discovery is what built this community, and it’s what’s driven us to grow beyond gin. The Curious Drinker is the name we should probably have had all along.”
For existing subscribers, the service will remain the same. Currently, new subscribers can only buy gin or rum boxes for monthly delivery but they can be swapped for any spirit or cocktail boxes that are in stock on the website.
One new addition to the product offering is the Hugo Spritz box, which can be purchased for £50 (US$67) and contains a bottle of Connie Glaze Elderflower Vodka Liqueur, six sparkling wine cans and two soda water cans, as well as lemons.
The Curious Drinker will also soon offer an Old Fashioned box, as well as Paloma and Margarita sets in the future.
The rebrand follows the company’s recent appointment of restructuring specialist Leonard Curtis, which was hired to support a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) process.
A company spokesperson told The Spirits Business: “This only involved one entity within the Craft Clubs group, which is separate to our trading entity. An overwhelming majority of bond holders voted in favour of the proposal that was put forward to them, and the CVA process is now proceeding towards a conclusion.”
In 2023, Craft Gin Club exceeded its initial £500,000 (US$581,642) crowdfunding target within two days, enabling it to move into new spirits categories and markets.
The subscription service previously secured an investment of £75,000 (US$94,200) on BBC television series Dragons’ Den from Willingham in 2016.
Willingham is also the founder and CEO of Nightcap, a UK-based bar group that has acquired chains such as The Cocktail Club, Barrio Bars and Dirty Martini.
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