Industry body The Gin Guild has welcomed 24 new members, from distillers and brand owners to former bartenders promoting the category.
They were sworn in by The Gin Guild’s grand rectifier Martin Riley at a ceremony at The Savile Club in London, bringing the total number of members to 174.
Martin said: ““The aim of The Gin Guild is to bring together gin distillers and industry leaders and together we promote and encourage a commitment to excellence in gin distillation and industry custodianship of the spirit.
“Over the past five years we have welcomed a wide range of members to The Gin Guild and we offer a very warm welcome to those who joined us recently.”
Membership is open to a range of people in the gin industry, with various classes including founder wardens, who are appointed by the four founder companies Bacardi, Diageo, William Grant & Sons and Chivas Brothers, warden rectifiers, who include distillers, producers and brand owners, and rectifiers, who have roles in the production, distribution and marketing of gin, including leading bartenders, journalists, marketing experts and educators.
Full list of new members
Wardens
- Jon Chadwick, who established Durham Distillery in 2013, the first legal distillery in Durham since the reign of Henry VIII.
- Simon Ford, who founded The 86 Co and Fords Gin in 2012
- Karl Mason, owner of Mason’s Yorkshire Gin, the first modern distillery in Yorkshire
- Alexandra Robson, co-founder of West End Drinks, which launched the King of Soho London dry gin in 2013
- Geordie Willis, creative director at Berry Bros & Rudd which owns No 3 London Dry Gin.
Rectifiers
- James Goggin, portfolio ambassador for Maverick Drinks, UK distributer for craft brands such as St George.
- Howard Raymond, co-founder and director of West End Drinks: The King of Soho gin was named as a tribute to his father, Paul Raymond.
- Kathy Mason, co-brand owner of Mason’s Yorkshire Gin.
- Luke Tegner, brands director at Berry Bros & Rudd who has been involved in the development of No 3 gin from its conception to launch in 2010.
- Jessica Tomlinson, chief distiller at Durham Distillery and, at 27, one of the youngest senior distillers in the UK.
- Dan Warner, director of marketing and sales for Fords Gin in Europe and a former bartender.
- Ian Buxton, an advocate of the gin category and author of 101 Gins to Try Before you Die.
- Geraldine Coates, a leading writer on gin in books and regular contributions to UK publications as well as her own website, www.gintime.com.
- Dimitrious Kiakos, owner of The Gin Joint in Athens – Greece’s only gin-focused cocktail bar.
- Olivier Ward, co-founder of Gin Foundry, a leading source of information for gin enthusiasts and members of the trade and developer of bespoke gins.
- Olivia Williams, author of Gin Glorious Gin: How Mother’s Ruin Became the Spirit of London and a champion of the category.
- Tim Homewood, GB brand ambassador for Tanqueray Gin for the past three years and a former bartender.
- Louise McKerrow, European marketing director for Gordon’s, Tanqueray and Pimm’s.
- Ken McLachlan, who joined Diageo in 1990 and has been involved in the launch of Tanqueray No Ten and the development of Gordon’s Distillers’ Cut and Jinzu, a gin with oriental influences.
- Ron Van Houten, who procures botanicals and ingredients for Diageo’s gins.
- Craig Harper, on-trade manager at Fever-Tree since 2012, working on the promotion of its tonic, with a focus on gin.
- Bernhard Schäfer, co-founder of the European Network of Spirit Experts and a panel member on a number of different spirit competitions, including IWSC.
- Trevor Stirling, who has been involved in spirits analysis since 1990 and now European beverages analyst at Sanford C Bernstein and a seasoned commentator and supporter of the gin industry.
- Dan Thwaites, who launched the first crowd-funded gin in the UK, Yerburgh’s Jam Jar Gin.
