to think posh gin is a scam

[pisacake]

Basically it's industrial ethanol with flavourings. It's not like cognac or something where you potentially start with a good wine and distil it. It is literally just a flavoured, diluted ethanol.

So the production cost could vary perhaps £1 or £2 at most between the cheapest Asda Smart Price and the super-duper-deluxe.

And blind taste tests repeatedly pick the cheapo ones.

metro.co.uk/2017/07/27/aldis-10-gin-declared-one-of-best-in-world-by-experts-6811653/

Just marketing.

Love Edinburgh and Brighton gin. Also Cotswold Barrell Aged is amazing, like if whisky and gin had a big lovely shag. 😁

OP. YANBU but I still like some of the rip off gin 😂 I prefer to buy gin that is wholly made by the producer, i.e. distilled, flavoursed and bottled etc but some of the 'just add flavour and market gin company make tasty gin.

I like tankquery botanicals, although I'm big sure it's available now and pothecary gin which is some pouncey gin distilled and 'blended' in Dorset. It's got a strong lavender flavour which is weird but nice too.

The other thing that can do one is "gin glasses". Since when was it only acceptable to serve gin in a ridiculous balloon glass? I now have one of these silly things cluttering up my house thanks to the aforementioned overpriced gin festival. At least beer festival glasses are useful!

So it's, er, petrol! It's fucking petrol and they market the hell out of it that it's some sort of premium product. As far as I can see, whey alcohol has NEVER been regarded as a premium product

It's not fucking petrol. OP, you don't know what you are talking about, you are just cutting and pasting quotes you can't quite understand.
What's your problem? No-one buying whatever shit you're making?

I don't drink gin don't really like any spirits just wine and the occasional lager. Majority of friends are now gin drinkers (most used to be vodka drinkers). We had a discussion on this recently because of all the gin bars popping up, gin menus now in most bars and the fab stylish glasses they are served in. The crux to me seems to be the mixers. Most of my friends now are really particular about the tonic that goes with it and what brand it is and whether there is cranberries or lavender in it etc etc. The gin itself doesn't seem to matter so much I think how it is served and what it is served with makes the huge difference.

I haven't tried Bombay East or Bombay Star existential, but thanks for the recommendation, I will look out for them

Cheap gin is disgusting. It's basically just gin flavoured vodka isn't it? I'm not too big on alcohol though but a high quality gin with proper tonic water and some lime on a hot day is sublime.

All gin is made from a vodka base. Adding juniper is what makes it gin.

It's not all made from a vodka base.

It's not all made from a vodka base.

According to the distillers that I went to it is - the alcohol base is essentially pure vodka. Not sure why they would say it if it wasn't true?

"It's not fucking petrol. OP, you don't know what you are talking about, you are just cutting and pasting quotes you can't quite understand.
What's your problem? No-one buying whatever shit you're making?"

I don't know what I'm talking about? Really?

Perhaps try contradicting this:

1. Whey alcohol is an industrial alcohol produced in vast quantities. It is not in any way shape or form an artisanal product.
2. Whey alcohol costs pennies a litre.
3. Whey has no inherent advantages over other sources of alcohol, it just happens to be available as a waste product and is hence CHEAP.
4. When you are producing a neutral spirit for gin or vodka, the goal is purity. The traces of methanol in things like grapes and other woody sources of alcohol can give hangovers.
5. Since vodka is just diluted alcohol without flavours, there is more room to market using 'purer' water and 'purer' alcohol sources, though fundamentally an 'artisanal' vodka doesn't make all that much sense because purity is a function of technology .

6.. Whey alcohol no different from other neutral spirits for making gin or vodka - it is 96% pure ethanol with the minimum possible of adulterants or flavourings. By law the goal of neutral spirit is to be as pure as possible - it is require to have 'no secondary odour' (i.e. other than alcohol) and only the taste of alcohol.

So advertising your gin as made from a particular kind of industrial alcohol is a load of shite, quite frankly.

Yes, you can give it a different flavour by adding different botanicals, but let's not get away from the fact that the purpose of the marketing is to make the consumer think they are drinking some sophisticated beverage when the reality is it's industrial ethanol plus flavourings. The ethanol is what you are after, and as soon as you accept that you are a (functioning?) alcoholic, the better. It's not some sophisticated ritual, you just like numbing yourself with alcohol.

Not that there's anything wrong with that (well ok some things), but let's be honest with ourselves. It's not Chateaux Latour 1982.

Whereas petrol is a fractionate of crude oil. Not seeing the link to gin here.

According to the distillers that I went to it is - the alcohol base is essentially pure vodka. Not sure why they would say it if it wasn't true?

the distillers you went to probably use neutral grain alcohol, but they don't ALL, so your comment was incorrect.

I won't bother, thanks, OP, I can't be arsed to cut and paste with your commitment.

You seem to think you know something the rest of us don't, and that we are being scammed. I know precisely how the various gins I drink are made, what is in them, and why they cost the various prices they do. There is no "scam" involved.

Why not have a g&t and chill the fuck out?

"the distillers you went to probably use neutral grain alcohol, but they don't ALL, so your comment was incorrect."

Vodka is not required to be made from grain alcohol, the traditional product is grain or potato alcohol. However it can be made from other products, however it is NOT made from grain or potato it must be declared on the label.

Vodka is made from "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin
Likewise gin "ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin"

Vodka may have some flavour from the raw material (e.g., potatoes) added in, whereas the purpose of gin is to flavour a flavourless alcohol with juniper berries (required) and other things (either by distillation (distilled gin) or by just adding them to the alcohol (non-distilled gin, which is essentially flavoured vodka).

"IF it is NOT made from grain or potato it must be declared on the label. "
sorry

I'm sure you had a point there but it's too buried in shite to unearth.

Try a martini if the g&t is not to your taste.

Close to Bassenthwaite Lake, in an area of unimaginable beauty encircled by Cumbrian fells, we have the perfect home for The Lakes Distillery. We have ideal water from the famous River Derwent, with its source high up in the fells, a team steeped in distilling experience, and perfect conditions for creating outstanding spirits.

Juniper can be found across the fells in The Lakes District, and we use this local juniper as the very heart of our gin. Using classic gin botanicals augmented with others native to The Lakes – including bilberry, heather and meadowsweet – this is an artisan gin which is complex, intriguing and delicious.”

This one's worth a try !

OP: how else do you think they are going to distil alcohol? Or make something in enough bulk to sell in shops.

This is a bit like complaining that your expensive car was made in a factory using some parts that are also used in cheaper cars, and even in making completely unrelated things.

"OP: how else do you think they are going to distil alcohol? "

They don't distil alcohol, that's the point. They are just buying it in.

You don't have maturation, you don't have the trouble of picking a good base, you just have flavourless alcohol.

"as soon as you accept that you are a (functioning?) alcoholic, the better. It's not some sophisticated ritual, you just like numbing yourself with alcohol"

Wind her up and watch her go! Literally amazing.

Yes. You buy the alcohol that has been distilled and then you process it to make gin. Gin is what it is.

Are you just annoyed that it's currently quite fashionable?

It's a bit like being annoyed that your bakery didn't grow their own wheat, grind it into flour and then make your bread. They just bought in stuff made using industrial processes.

I tried one called elgin the base is made from oats and it was really nice and smooth. I can see the value of small scale distilling.

I suspect some of the bigger brands are much the same with a different price tag though :)

"Are you just annoyed that it's currently quite fashionable?"

No not particularly I just noted that they were promoting a particular brand at £7 off in the supermarket, as if this somehow a super deal.

I think it's the high level of taxes that let the producers get away with it, maintaining the illusion that this is somehow a super-sophisticated product rather than the proverbial mother's ruin.

I do drink quite a lot of it, I just don't like bullshit marketing.

"I tried one called elgin the base is made from oats and it was really nice and smooth. I can see the value of small scale distilling.
"

The base is the same as anyone else, just flavourless alcohol, what they are doing is adding oats as one of the flavourings alongside the juniper et al.