Networking & events
A key benefit of Guild membership is the opportunity to network. The Guild has at least two formal functions a year, at which Guild installations take place. Both offer exceptional hospitality and opportunities for key guests to be invited.
Our Autumn Gin Guild Installation event is the more formal of our two installations. It is held at The Mansion House, the home of the Lord Mayor, in the heart of the City of London. Members and their guests join our parent company, the Worshipful Company of Distillers, at a Banquet, which follows the Guild Installation.
The Spring Installation is combined with the Gin Industry Annual Dinner, which is open to anyone who has a material connection to the Gin Industry as well as Gin Guild members and is an excellent networking opportunity.
Guild events offer an unrivalled quality, and an entertaining programme to support our members.
Prestige
Join and be an active member in an organisation supported by many of the world’s leading gin brands, their distillers and colleagues, and celebrate and promote excellence in the distillation and promotion of gin.
A dedicated Gin industry resource centre
If you’ve ever had a gin related question and want to find the answer – the Guild can help, we have unrivalled access to some of the sharpest minds in the business from legal questions, to distilling with a particular botanical, to help with anything from possible violations of regulations and how to make sure your organic credentials are fit for purpose. On top of this, you have access to the sharpest brains in the industry at our events.
Education
The Guild works with other key players in the industry, including the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD), the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh to organise educational events for the trade, industry students and consumers.
Showcase
We provide opportunities, especially for smaller members, to have their products made available to a wider and focused market.
Awards
The Guild sponsors two key gin awards within the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC). They are the London Dry Gin of the Year and the Distilled Contemporary Gin of the Year.
Ginposium
The Guild organises and hosts one of the highlights of the year, the annual Ginposium. This is a one-day trade and industry conference, with many cutting-edge seminars on gin topics, from production to marketing. Open to trade, industry, distilling students, and others interested in the subject, these events have been a great success. Film footage of previous events is available on our website. Next year’s event will again be at RSA House, the home of the world-renowned Royal Society of Arts in London. More information can be found at https://www.ginposium.com
The Gin Guild website
The Guild website is an active resource, promoting events, lectures and member companies and brands. There is a member only section, and a growing World Gin Distillery map.
Gin-Note™
The significant growth in the number of distilleries producing gins means that there are now a growing and often confusing number of gin styles and tastes to navigate.
The Gin Guild, in consultation with over sixty brands, launched (copyright and Trademark), for use by brands. The Gin-Note™ is intended to be a simple flavour indicator of a gin. It is not intended to replace a brands own label but is intended to be a navigational aid. Gin Guild brands listed to date with Gin-Note entries: https://www.theginguild.com/gin-note/
Category Protection
The Guild, working in conjunction with Trading Standards also has a material role in enforcement and protection of the category. It calls out and seeks correction by beverage brands who claim their products are ‘gin’, but which do not comply with regulations which cover spirit production and sale.
The Guild has already published two key guidance notes interpreting regulations. These provide information on how to label no and low alcohol products which emulate (but which are not gin), and gin liqueurs. This guidance is known as Approved Guidance and is formally issued by our Primary Authority partnership and approved by DEFRA in the UK.
Member testimonials:
As a craft distiller I valued the chance to network and learn from other members. Now, as I represent one of the four Founder companies, I also recognise how important the Guild is to a brand, whether it is large or small. The Gin Guild is helping to nurture a vibrant and diverse gin category, to the benefit of us all.
Dr Anne Brock, Master Distiller Bombay Sapphire
The Guild is the heart to which we are connected as Gin distillers, regardless of where we are in the world.
Anand Virmani, Founder & CEO, NAO Spirits (Hapusa Himalayan Gin)
The Guild connects us all, it protects us, and it enhances our business. It is a hub for regulatory guidance, support, information, introductions, and the ability to apply pressure in the right places!
Sam Galsworthy, Co-Founder, Sipsmith
The Gin Guild has been instrumental in guiding and protecting this splendid and rapidly expanding spirit, and it has also given us all the opportunity to get to know each other and enjoy the fruits of our labours.
Desmond Payne MBE, Master Distiller Emeritus, Beefeater Gin
The Gin Guild is an important institution and I think everyone agrees how beneficial this network is to all of us personally and professionally, as well as to the continued success of the gin category.
Lesley Gracie, Master Distiller, Hendrick’s Gin
The Gin Guild has provided a community that I am proud to be a part of. I feel like by joining I actually became part of a family that provides constant support.
Daniel Szor, Founder – The Cotswold Distilling Company
I have never in my career seen such a gathering of gin industry players.
Christopher Hayman, Haymans Distillers
I am fascinated by the gin industry as it is so dynamic and diverse. Joining The Gin Guild has enabled me to connect with like-minded people in the industry and opens up an array of opportunities.
Ibolya Bakos-Tonner, Inver House Distillery, Caorunn
As a representative of family distiller William Grant and Sons it’s a great honour to be in a position where we have the opportunity through The Gin Guild to really help nurture the industry as it continues its exciting growth and explosion in innovation. We’re committed to driving excellence in the way that gin is served, as well as in the way it is distilled – because it’s integral that one supports the other.
Duncan McRae, Hendricks Ambassador to Britain
I love gin. I would like to expand the gin market in Japan. Being part of this membership will help me remain motivated. It will also mean I’m in a good place to educate customers and bartenders more about gin and what I learn from The Gin Guild. And this should ensure customers will respect gin more than they used to.
Hisashi Kishi, President of Japan’s Nippon Bartenders Association