James Sutherland, 56 North, Edinburgh
Which gin serves are proving particularly popular this summer? Is the G&T king or are cocktails taking over?
As always with us G&Ts are king but we’re also seeing refreshing summer drinks do really well too. We designed a whole series of spritz-style gin drinks before summer, which have come into their own with the warm weather; they are light and flavoursome, so ideal.
Has the weather influenced people’s choice of gin or serve?
110%. The weather means people are looking for refreshing, accessible drinks. Lower ABV products have also benefitted too.
Which tonics and mixers do you currently stock?
We have a huge range with Fever-Tree and Lamb & Watt dominating the space for us but we also have Fentimans, 1724, Schweppes 1783, Bon Accord and Cushidoos. The idea is we want to give customers a choice of flavours, styles and locale, etc. It’s the exact same approach we take to our range of over 400 gins but in tonic form!
How many flavoured gins do you currently stock?
Our range consists of hundreds of gins, more and more of these are based around a pronounced flavour or style. The growth of the flavoured gin market is great but it is key we don’t lose sight of what defines gin, which is juniper! I could (and do) talk for days on this subject but I do love the current growth of accessible styles and flavours.
Where do you source your gins?
To stock over 400 gins, we need to use a bit of everyone. We use all major routes to market and have a few other ways of sourcing some of the very hard to get gins via a London-based specialist.
What are the qualities you look for in a gin?
“What does it add for our guests?” This approach is really simple but highly effective. Branding and flavours, etc. fall behind this. We want to offer a diversity of flavours, production methods and regions. If a brand can do all this well while interesting our guests the rest of it really just falls into line.
Adrian Gomes, 10 Dollar Shake, Aberdeen
Which gin serves are proving particularly popular this summer? Is the G&T king or are cocktails taking over?
Guests are becoming more adventurous and taking recommendations on non-tonic mixers, such as Fever Tree’s new Spiced Orange Ginger Ale. Gin cocktails have been established pretty much since the resurgence in the ‘90s (Dick Bradsell’s Bramble, for example) but I think there’s a time and a place for either a G&T or a cocktail.
Have you noticed the weather influencing people’s choice of gin and/or serve?
Long drinks and spritzers are the order of the day. Understandable!
Which tonics/mixers do you currently stock, and what do you like about them?
Fever Tree, Double Dutch, Fentiman’s – all great brands. I tried some of the new Franklin & Sons mixers at Imbibe Live in London last week and I was very impressed with the Rosemary & Black Olive Tonic.
How many flavoured gins do you currently stock, and which is the most popular with customers?
We have over 80 gins, with a small number of fruit ones. The likes of Brockmans, Opihr and our very own Jindea Single Estate Tea Gin are still hugely popular.
Where do you source your gin? Do you work with one supplier or a range of them?
We work with a number of suppliers including Huffman’s, Dunns/Hot Sauce and Inverarity Mortons, with a very small amount bought direct from the likes of Isle of Harris.
What are the qualities you look for in a gin when deciding whether or not to stock it?
One interesting thing is that a number of well-known brands have been de-listed as I struggle to differentiate between the sheer number of brands on the market.
