5 Things You Didn't Know About Tanqueray Gin
Gin happens to be one of those few spirits that most of us don’t prefer to drink neat. We pair it up most often with tonic and enjoy it in our cocktails. But despite this ebb and flow of the market, there are several gin brands that have stood rock solid for over 200 years. Tanqueray is one such world-class brand that continues to have millions of fans all over the globe.
So, the next time you sip on Tanqueray, remember these 5 interesting facts about the gin in your hand.
Here it goes!
How Tanqueray got it’s name
Charles Tanqueray was born in the year 1810. Just outside London, his father, grandfather and great-uncle were all clergymen in a parish. But when the time came for Charles Tanqueray to choose a career path, he found a distillery with his brother in London in the year 1830. He was always of a scientific mind and didn’t want to follow the footsteps of his family. Along with his brother, he went to Curries Distillery to learn the craft and become a gin distiller. And boy, are we glad he did so!
Diageo
Charles was one of the first pioneers to craft a London dry-style of gin
Old Tom-style gin was very fashionable during those days but Charles stumbled upon a different method to create what later came to be known as London dry-style gin. Old Tom gins were heavily sugared and did not have the distillation technique to create a pure base spirit. Tanqueray discovered a method for distilling botanicals into a small quantity of neutral grain spirit before distilling the larger batch for the final time.
Forbes
Tanqueray is a close cousin of Smirnoff
Gin and vodka are often close to the same stuff before the botanicals come into play. When Smirnoff and Tanqueray are compared, they are quite similar, the difference being the raw materials used in the production of both these spirits. The base spirit of Tanqueray and Smirnoff are distilled at Cameron Bridge in Scotland before they become the respective products.
Drink Supermarket
Tanqueray 10 has eight botanicals
If you thought it was called Tanqueray 10 because it had 10 botanicals, you’re wrong. It has 8 botanicals. The drink gets its name from being made in Tranqueray’s number ten still, which was also fondly known as “Tiny Ten”. Tanqueray 10 was produced as a kind of celebration of the growing gin market. It has more of fragrant citrus notes and earthy spices.
Urban Drinks
Clearly, America loves its Tanqueray
Tanqueray was the first drink to be poured in the White House after the Prohibition was repealed in 1933, according to the Diageo activist Joanne McKerchar. Also, its next boom in US markets came when Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack were seen drinking Tanqueray Martinis in the Buena Vista Social Club in San Francisco. McKerchar claims the sales of the drink doubled in a year without spending a penny on its advertising.
Eat Treat
Next time you hold a glass of gin, don’t forget to thank your old man, Charles Tanqueray.
Make sure you drink responsibly.
