Ginposium 2021: The highlights to watch

The Ginposium from The Gin Guild is back for 2021 and the talks are now available for free to all at www.ginposium.com. Our contributing editor, David T. Smith, has watched through the talks and picked out some highlights:

The one talk not to miss:

For historical adventurers that love a mystery:

The Distiller of London – Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown (20 mins)

From the first line – “it’s time to debunk everything that you’ve heard about the history of gin” – to the last minute, this talk is packed full of enlightening information. It is charming, aneraining, and a marvellous way to spend 20 minutes.

The bite-sized talks:

For the green-fingered nature lover with an appreciation of data:

The Richness of Nature – Rachel Sutherland  (19 mins)

Rachel discusses the use of farm-grown botanicals in Warner’s Gin and the opportunities and challenges in sourcing ingredients this way, all backed up by scientific data (via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis)

• Why it makes a difference
• Factoring in the difference to your flavour profile, harvest to harvest
• The impact of processing botanicals, drying, roasting etc.

For the strategist with an eagerness to explore:

Family Planning: Adding to the (brand) family – Rosie Milsom (12 mins)

What is the relation between World War Two aviation strategists and creating new gins? Rosie Milsom shares some of the secrets of Atom Labs and how they can go from idea to product in a matter of weeks. An essential talk for those interested in product development without the bureaucracy.

For those curious as to how the spirit that becomes gin is made:

Gin distilling: from field to bottle – Kirsty Black (13 mins)

Join Kirsty Black for a tour of Arbikie Distillery and a talk on the process of turning farm-grown raw materials (potato, wheat, and even peas – yes, peas!) into spirit and – finally – into gin.

For the globetrotter that misses travel:

Gin Ripples across the Pond – Natasha Bahrami (15 mins)

Gin is a global phenomenon, but different markets have different perspectives. Natasha Bahrami (Gin Hall of Fame inductee) gazes across the Atlantic to talk about the rise of the no/low sector, labelling rules, and ready-to-drink beverages.

The longer sessions:

For those looking for the opinions of the industry’s finest:

The State of Gin – panel discussion (44 mins)

A discussion on the state of gin both now and the direction in which it’s going with an all-star, award-winning panel:

• Bernadette Pamplin (Under The Ginfluence / Craft Distilling Expo) (Chair)
• Dr Anne Brock (The Gin Guild and Bombay Sapphire) – Icons of Gin Master Distiller of the Year 2021
• Dr Georgia Billing (City of London Distillery) – Icons of Gin Bar Manager of the Year  2021
• Siobhan Feeley (Sacred) – Icons of Gin Distillery Manager of the Year 2021
• Vanessa Piromallo (ilgin.it) – Icons of Gin Online Retailer of the Year 2021
• Caroline Childerley (The Gin Queen) – Icons of Gin Communicator of the Year 2020

For the traditionalist that wishes people would stop mucking about with gin:

Juniper – Upfront and essential? – Aaron Knoll and ensemble (50 mins)

The age-old question that has become an increasingly thorny issue: how little is “too little juniper” for a gin to be considered a gin? An excellent panel share their opinions and look at how things could be improved with more communication and an increased ability to sell directly to the consumer.