Drinking in Sacramento: A Feature in July's Imbibe Magazine
The Gin Renaissance in America: Who, When, Where, and Why

The US Gin Launch Timeline

For the purposes of categorizing and tracking the American gin renaissance, I created this timeline of when different gin brands launched in the US, with a number of caveats:

  • GinTimelineScreenShotAs the goal is to closely look at what happened in 1980-2010ish, I didn't include most new brands launched after 2009ish. 
  • The older brand dates may not reflect the real first import date into the US. They are indications that they were probably around a very long time.
  • If the brand reformulated in a meaningful way (ex. Plymouth) I used the re-release date.
  • I have tried to focus on the US, rather than international, release date. 
  • For Type of Gin, I categorized things into Dry, Genever, and Old Tom. I'm not trying to define which are "New Western" or whatever we're now calling the lighter, modern style. Those are labelled as Dry. 
  • This post offers some analysis of the chart and gin history.
  • I cited my sources and have made a strong attempt to be accurate. It is not my intention to misrepresent or disinclude any brand.
  • If you have something to add (missing or incorrect information for brands launched 2009 or before), you can leave a comment below or email me
  • Sorry about the formatting!  

 

Gin Brand US Launch Origin Type of Gin Notes Source
Booths 1740 UK Dry   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booth's_Gin
Gordon's Original London Dry 1769   Dry first distillery in US 1934. Looks to have multiple distilleries Wikipedia
Tanqueray London Dry 1830 UK Dry   Wikipedia
Boodles 1845 UK Dry First bottled in the United States by Seagram's.  In 2012, redesigned bottle and an alcoholic strength of 80 proof. The botanical recipe remains the same. Has always been made in the UK.

Wikipedia/PR contact

According to a former PR employee, "Boodles was invented by the Seagram Company in the 1960’s. I don’t know where the year 1845 came from, but it is nothing to do with any distillery or product launch."

Seagram's 1857 Canada Dry According to Regan, Seagram's gin wasn't introduced to the US until 1939. http://pernod-ricard.com/551/brands/see-all-brands/local-brands/seagram-s-gin
Beefeater 1876 UK Dry   Wikipedia
Boomsma Stirling London Dry 1883 Netherlands Dry   http://www.boomsma.net/
Bombay Original Dry 1959 UK Dry  Bottle says 1761 Pr Rep 
Bombay Sapphire 1987 UK Dry   PR Rep
Cadenhead's Old Raj 1995 UK Dry Launched in UK 1972. "I believe the gin would have been exported to American from around the 1992 to 1995 period." - brand email http://www.the-complete-gentleman.com/SpiritsGinBrandsCadenheadOldRajBlueLabelGin.html
Bendistillery Cascade Mountain Gin (Crater Lake Gin) 1996 USA Dry Name changed from Cascade Mountain to Crater Lake in 2012. Flavored by post-distillation maceration. email
Junipero 1996 USA Dry   anchor website
Citadelle 1996 France Dry 1994 in Europe pr rep
Tanqueray Malacca (defunct) 1997 UK Dry 1997-2001, then a special edition in 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanqueray
Plymouth Gin 1998 UK Dry Launched in 1793. Reformulated and relaunched in 1990s. Regan
Beefeater Wet (defunct) 1999 UK Dry   https://summerfruitcup.wordpress.com/tag/beefeater-wet/
Van Gogh 1999 Netherlands Dry "released in 1999" Regan pr rep
Bardenay 2000 USA Dry   brand rep
Tanqueray No TEN 2000 UK Dry   Regan
Hendrick's 2000 UK Dry   brand rep
Broker's 2001 UK Dry Broker’s was originally launched in 1998 and it was introduced into the U.S. Market in 2001 PR Rep
Hampton's 2001 USA Dry   Regan
Leopold's American Small Batch Gin 2001 USA Dry   Distiller
Juniper Green Organic London Dry 2002 UK Dry Launched in UK in 2000. importer email
Martin Miller's 2003 UK Dry UK launch 1999 http://www.martinmillersgin.com/the-gin/
Sarticious (Defunct) 2003 USA Dry closed but Blade Gin is same recipe made at another distillery brand rep
Magellan Blue Gin 2003 France Dry   brand contact
Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength 2003 UK Navy Strength   pr rep
CapRock Organic Dry 2004 USA Dry "Peak Spirits founded in 2004" Regan Regan
209 Gin 2005 USA Dry   Distiller
North Shore Distiller's Gin No 6 2005 USA Dry "north shore distillery est in 2004" Regan distiller
Zuidam Dry 2005 Netherlands Dry   brand material
Zuidam Genever 2005 Netherlands Genever   brand material
Aviation 2006 USA Dry   Distiller
Bluecoat American Dry 2006 USA Dry   Regan
Death's Door 2006 USA Dry   Owner
DH Krahn 2006 USA Dry   http://martini-lounge.blogspot.com/2006/11/dh-krahn-gin-launches.html
G'Vine Floraison 2006 France Dry   Brand rep
Rogue Spruce 2006 USA Dry started getting awards in 2007 http://www.grizzlyliquor.com/Packages/Gin/Gin03.htm
Bulldog London Dry 2007 UK Dry Offices in NY Regan
Dry Fly Washington Dry 2007 USA Dry "first distilled in Sept 2007" Regan Regan
Greylock Gin 2007 USA Dry Distillery launched in 2007, not positive about gin. http://berkshiremountaindistillers.com/about-us/about-berkshire-mountain-distillers/
New Amsterdam 2007 USA Dry   Camper notes
Rehorst Premium Milwaukee 2007 USA Dry "Opened in 2006" Regan http://www.jsonline.com/business/29543669.html
Right Gin 2007 Sweden Dry http://altamarbrands.com/our-brands/right-gin/essential-facts/ their website
Tanqueray Rangpur 2007 UK Dry   Regan
Genevieve 2007 USA Genever   Regan
Hayman's Old Tom 2007 UK Old Tom   https://imbibemagazine.com/Old-Tom-Gin
Blade - Rusty Blade 2008 USA Aged   brand rep
Citadelle Reserve 2008 USA Aged   pr rep
12 Bridges (defunct) 2008 USA Dry distillery closed in 2012 http://www.the-complete-gentleman.com/SpiritsGinBrands12BridgesGin.html
G'Vine Nouaison 2008 France Dry   Brand rep
Knickerbocker Gin 2008 USA Dry   http://www.mlive.com/kalamabrew/index.ssf/2008/12/_holland_more_new.html
Organic Nation Gin (defunct) 2008 USA Dry   http://www.organicnationspirits.com/about/
Whitley Neill 2008 UK Dry "launched sept 2005" in UK brand rep
Bols Genever 2008 Netherlands Genever   PR
Boomsma Fine Young Genever 2008 Holland Genever 1883 founded. On US market by 2008 but date may not be exactly correct. http://www.boomsma.net/
Beefeater 24 2009 UK Dry   Wikipedia
Blade Gin 2009 USA Dry Same recipe as Sarticious brand rep
Damrak Amsterdam 2009 Netherlands dry   Regan
Greenall's Original London Dry 2009 UK Dry 1761 Launch Regan
Nicholas 2009 USA Dry "first bottle born on april 24, 2009 at 10pm" Regan Regan
Oxley 2009 UK Dry   brand material
Port of Barcelona (defunct?) 2009 Spain Dry   http://martini-lounge.blogspot.com/2009/05/review-port-of-barcelona-gin.html
Ransom Old Tom 2009 USA Old Tom "first batch bottled March 2009" Regan Regan
Cold River Gin 2010 USA Dry   http://stuffboston.com/2010/10/04/original-gin#.U3p839JdX4U
Nolet 2010 Netherlands Dry   PR Rep
Bloom 2011 UK Dry launched in UK 2009-2010 http://www.the-complete-gentleman.com/SpiritsGinBrandsBloomGin.html
Bols Barrel Aged Genever 2011 Netherlands Genever   PR Rep
Bombay Sapphire East 2012 UK Dry   pr rep

The Regan cited as a source is gaz regan's Bartender's Gin Compendium, which has collected information from many gin brands. 

 

This post was assembled with the support of Anchor Distilling, makers of Junipero gin and Genevieve genever-style gin. 

 

Comments

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François Monti

In Spain, Port of Barcelona is called Port of Dragons and is still pretty much alive and kicking.

Camper English

Thanks - Will update the chart in a couple of weeks.

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