What Kind of Person Loves Hendrick’s Gin?

It is indisputable that Hendrick’s gin lovers are a particular type of people. They act, think and dress in unique and unusual ways. They stand out in a crowd in a pleasing and aesthetical way. By the end of this article, you will understand what makes Hendrick’s unique and really stand out in an oversaturated gin market, and perhaps you will also understand yourself better. Let’s start with this: Hendrick’s is like Marmite!

Now you may protest that Marmite is an unsightly, thick, glutinous, mud-coloured substance while Hendrick’s is a light, ethereal, elegant spirit, finished with an infusion of crisp cucumber and beautiful Bulgarian roses. You may say that it’s unfair to compare the two.

However, there are two schools of thought regarding Hendrick’s: those who love it, and those who hate it.

Hendrick’s itself insists that its gin is loved by a tiny handful of individuals. Who are these people?

Tell Me What You Drink, and I’ll Tell You Who You are

In order to get to the heart of this mystery, you need to understand a little about the interesting history of the emergence of the London dry gin.

Early versions of gin contained sugar. London dry gin, which emerged in the second half of the 1800s, relied less on sweetening. It was produced exclusively from grain spirit and used juniper prominently.

Strict regulations were further established in the early 20th century dictating that London dry gin could only be made in England and could not contain added sugar. This cemented it as a protected style.

Due to the domination of the London dry style with its juniper-forward flavour, regular gins have a clean, crisp taste with an invigorating blend of piney freshness, subtle peppery spice, and a slight hint of citrus.

This British-style gin produced in industrial quantities, dominated gin production across the world. The time was ripe for change.

Hendrick’s Gin – an Act of Elegant Rebellion

In the late 1990s, Lesley Grace – now Master Distiller of Hendrick’s – was approached by Charlie Gordon of William Grant & Sons, owner of Hendrick’s.

At that time, gin was rarely drunk, but Charlie was canny and knew its time was coming. He gave Lesley just one set of instructions – she was to include in the ingredients cucumber and roses, evoking cucumber sandwiches and rose gardens – things very British and summery.

He also gave her two strange looking very small stills, evoking science fiction films of the 1950s. He was subliminally imparting to her an important point.

 Smallness is important because Lesley could only produce very small batches – 550 litres actually, which is tiny. Small batches allow tight quality control and allow changes to be introduced rapidly in production. Hendrick’s was pioneering something new – it was moving away from the mass commercial production of gin.

His instruction to use cucumber and roses was an invitation to infuse freshness, beauty and vibrancy into an old classic.

Lesley, as you will see, did something really interesting.

Two for One

When you have Hendrick’s gin, you’re actually having a blend of two completely separate gins. Eleven carefully selected botanicals are placed in a very rare Carter-head still. The Carter-head steams the botanicals with alcoholic vapours, creating a light and delicate gin.

A fresh batch of the same eleven botanicals is placed in a Victorian Bennnett still which steeps the botanicals and gives a rich, complex spirit.

The Marriage of Opposites

Despite both of these gins being perfectly good gins in their own right, Lesley is looking for a rounded flavour.

The light and delicate spirit is married to the rich and complex one to create a light, fresh but fervent and complex gin.

A Consummation Devoutly to be Wished

The final spirit is then infused with Bulgarian rose petals and cucumber, giving us a delightful, exquisite and refreshing gin.

A Gin All About You

Henrick’s is very carefully targeting people who like a certain elegance and classicalism married to a certain vibrancy, quirkiness and freshness. Hendrick’s elegant creations are works of art inspired by the quirky elegance of the fin de siècle and early 20^th-century surrealism.

So Henrick’s is all about one thing, taking something classical like the London Dry Gin and giving it an unusual twist and producing an ‘oddly exquisite gin’ that is ‘astonishingly delectable’.

We Love People Like You

At Whisky Kingdom, we love people who are distinguished by their adherence to a certain unusual classical elegance and fresh ironic vibrancy – a certain quirkiness of spirit.

We are proud to have a collection of Hendrick’s latest releases. You will find on our website special releases and even a refreshing twist to an old icon of the fin de siècle – absinthe. Please visit us here.