Record numbers attend Gin Industry’s annual learning and networking event
18th June, 2024
On Friday, 14th June over 130 members of the gin industry from around the world, coming from as far away as the USA, Australia, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Estonia, Slovakia and Switzerland as well across the United Kingdom and Ireland, gathered in London for Ginposium 2024.
With a wide range of sessions covering topics of significance to Gin makers, from Botanicals availability to what is going on in the marketplace, to advise from those who have learned the hard way about launching in new markets, to advice from John Vine, THE Spirits Buyer (yes there is only one!) at Waitrose.
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Ciara Cullen, partner at legal firm RPC flagged up the dangers of using Gen-AI to create branding and not realising until too late about who owns the IP of the created works, while John Vine outlined his role, some fantastic case studies including Guild members Cotswolds Distillery and how, and how not to approach him.
Lesley is the Legend
Following the popularity of the Guild’s first Legend slot where Christopher Hayman interviewed Desmond Payne in 2023, this year’s session was all about Lesley Gracie, creator of Hendrick’s gin, which was full of Lesley’s trademark wit, generosity and encouragement for girls thinking of a career in the industry: “Just go for it!”.
Simon Ford shared what he has learnt along the way from launching Fords Gin in new markets around the world for the first time and newly installed Guild member Chris Pitcher earned a hat-trick of appearances as he gave his appraisal on the world Gin market, which has doubled in size since 2013.
In 2024 we celebrated a decade of Ginposium, having had our first in 2014 and surprised regular speaker David T Smith for appearing at every event since then. Director General Pal Gleed presented David with a commemorative certificate and some sterling silver Gin Guild cufflinks as a thank you for his support.(right)
All the videos and presentations are now available for Gin Guild members in the Members’ section of our website.
Who was there? Itinerary & Speakers
- Dr Anne Brock – Bombay Sapphire
- Desmond Payne MBE – Beefeater
- Lesley Gracie – Hendrick’s
- Christopher Hayman – Haymans
- Charles Maxwell – Thames Distillers
- Terry Fraser – Tanqueray & Gordon’s
- Tom Nichol – Gardener’s Gin / J Rieger & Co.
- Simon Ford – Fords Gin
- Jared Brown – Sipsmith
Alongside representatives of:
- The Absolut Group
- Ad Gefrin Distillery
- Alcohols Ltd
- Angus Dundee Distillers
- AS Liviko (Crafters Gin)
- Atom Group (T/A Atom Brands, Master of Malt & Maverick Drinks)
- Bacardi
- Beefeater
- Beacon Commodities
- Berry Bros & Rudd (No.3 Gin)
- Bombay Sapphire
- Buckinghamshire & Surrey CC
- The British Distillers Alliance
- Copper in the Clouds Distillery
- The Church Farm Craft Company Ltd
- Craft Distilling Services
- De Vere Spirits
- Diageo
- Distiller’s Nose
- Distillerie de la Riviera (The Gardener Gin)
- Doghouse Distillery
- Doehler UK Ltd
- DrinksOne
- Eden Mill Distillery
- Estal
- Ethimex
- Fever-Tree
- Fords Gin
- The Gin Guide
- Gin In a Tin
- Gin Monkey
- Hope Distillery OÜ
- Gluckman Brown Griffith
- Greensand Ridge Distillery
- The Green Room Distillery
- Harpers Wines & Spirits
- Hayman’s Gin
- Hendrick’s Gin
- Heriot-Watt University
- Here we are
- Holyrood Distillery
- Hope Distillery OÜ
- Ian Macleod Distillers (Edinburgh Gin)
- ilgin.it
- International Beverage (Caorunn Gin)
- IWSR
- J. Rieger & Co.
- Kimia
- Kräuter Mix GmbH
- Liquitrade GmbH
- Ludlow Distillery
- Madrona Distillery
- Mallard Point Distillery
- Masons of Yorkshire
- Mixellany Ltd
- Old Young’s Distillery
- Papa Salt Gin
- Paragon Brands
- Perfidious Albion (Popinjay Gin)
- Pernod Ricard
- Portman Group
- Rankin Brothers & Sons
- Ramsbury Distillery
- Redburn Atlantic
- RPC
- Sainsbury’s
- Seismic Change
- Shivering Mountain Distillery
- Silent Pool Distillers
- Sin Gin Distillery
- Sipsmith
- The Sky Wave Distilling Co
- The Spirits Business
- Spirit of Hven
- Summerfruitcup.com
- Sweet Gwendoline French Gin
- Thames Distillers Ltd
- Trevethan Distillery Ltd
- Thunderflower Distillery
- Verallia
- Waitrose & Partners
- Webb James
- Whittaker’s Distillery Ltd
Topics at a glance:
Protecting your brand and IP from copycats | Botanicals supply | Gin Market Analysis | Advertising rules | The Spirits Buyer | Ultra-Premium | Legends Slot | What’s New | Entering New Markets | Botanicals Sourcing
Start |
End |
Description |
Speaker |
| 8:50 | 9:20 | Registration – with Coffee and Networking | |
| 9:20 | 9:30 | Opening remarks and introduction to the Gin Guild | Desmond Payne MBE, Grand Rectifier, The Gin Guild |
| 9:30 | 9:55 | Latest updates from the Portman Group and advice for Gin brands | Alison Munro, Senior Regulatory Affairs Manager, Portman Group |
| 9:55 | 10:20 | The latest developments in “copycat” cases in the drinks industry | Ciara Cullen, Partner, RPC |
| 10:20 | 10:45 | Botanicals availability and resiliance market update | Stefano Trumpy, Managing Director, Webb James |
| 10:45 | 11:15 | Coffee and Networking | |
| 11:15 | 11:50 | Analysis of latest market data and trends | Chris Pitcher, Partner, Redburn Atlantic |
| 11:50 | 12:35 | The Gin Guild Sustainability Project Update with Panel Q&A | David Symons, UK Director of Sustainability, WSP Jim Long, Director, The Gin Guild |
| 12:35 | 13:35 | Lunch (included) and Networking | |
| 13:35 | 14:00 | Tutored Tastings: Whats new and Juniper-Forward in 2024 | David T Smith, Writer & Spirits Judge, Summerfruitcup.com |
| 14:00 | 14:30 | Legends slot: Lesley Gracie, Hendrick’s Gin | Christopher Hayman, Chairman, The Gin Guild |
| 14:30 | 14:55 | Sourcing and managing botanicals for a global gin brand | Alessandro Garneri, Master of Botanicals, Bacardi |
| 14:55 | 15:05 | Introducing the Worshipful Company of Distillers | Alex Oldroyd, Court Assistant, The Distillers Livery |
| 15:05 | 15:35 | Tea and Networking | |
| 15:35 | 16:00 | The Growth in the Ultra Premium Celebrity-backed sector for Gins | Emma Stokes, Writer & Spirits Judge, Gin Monkey |
| 16:00 | 16:25 | Launching in a new market | Simon Ford, Founder, Fords Gin |
| 16:25 | 16:50 | A Spirits buyer’s perspective | John Vine, Spirits Buyer, Waitrose & Partners |
| 16:50 | 18:30 | Gin & Tonic and networking |
Meet the speakers
Feedback from Ginposium 2024
Some of the feedback from 2024’s event: It was brilliant Well organised and felt like a new lease of life to events and proceedings. Great to see recordings of sessions
Alessandro Garneri, Bacardi
Alessandro's talk is about Sourcing and managing botanicals for a global gin brand where he share his knowledge from working at Bacardi's botanical centre in Geneva.
Simon Ford, Fords Gin
Simon, founder of Fords Gin is going to discuss his experiences in launching a gin brand in a new market - using knowledge from his recent Brazil launch as well as the experience of launching in the USA - to share what he has learnt along the way.
Lesley Gracie, Hendrick’s Gin
A Q&A with the legendary Lesley Gracie creator of Hendrick's Gin, hosted by Gin Guild Chairman, Christopher Hayman.
David T Smith, Summerfruitcup.com
Celebrating his 10th year at Ginposium David leads his tasting of what’s new in the world of gin, a fast-paced environment with constant innovation with many new releases since last year.
Stefano Trumpy, Webb James
Stefano will discuss the general state of the botanicals market and look at the challenges of sustainability in botanicals supply, as well as the impact of climate change on botanicals crops and examine the impact of global conflicts.
Emma Stokes, Gin Monkey
Emma will guide attendees through a tasting session featuring a selection of the finest ultra-premium gins available, including from Guild members Renais, Cygnet as well as the gin created for Brad Pitt by Guild Lifetime achievement award winner Tom Nichol.
John Vine, Waitrose
John will give insights to gin producers around the world on what his role as Senior Spirits buyer at Waitrose entails, and give tips and suggestions for how to stand out in a crowded marketplace in Waitrose, the holy grail of spirits listings.
Alison Munro, Portman Group
Alison will provide an updated version of the presentation made at Ginposium 2019 from her colleague, Alistair Taylor, and provide a refresher for gin brands on how the self-regulatory system for alcohol marketing works.
Chris Pitcher, Redburn Atlantic
Chris will help us map the performance of gin consumption, focus on the recent evolution in consumer trends by the key markets, and summarise where we are in the investment cycle and will examine the challenges facing the industry.