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You may know Caroline Ashford as The Gin Queen on Instagram and Facebook or via her website, theginqueen.com, but Caroline is also behind the Australian arm of Junipalooza, which as you might guess is a two day show devoted to all things gin, and during the pandemic she got into the gin pushing game herself with The Ginporium, an online concierge that helps you get the right gin for you. It's an interesting chat, we talk about how she's amassed an online following in the many 10s of thousands, her advice on growing your own brand, where gin is at today and how she's built her career in drinks over the last decade.
It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right we're talking about gin christmas or as it's more commonly known Junipalooza. Join us as we try new gins and chat to the wonderful people who make them! Thanks to Imbue Distillery, Anther, Never Never, Tiny Bear, Applewood and Mountain Gin for chatting to us.
Join the Gals as we chat to the one and only Queen herself Caroline Childerley! Let the count down to Junipalooza begin!
Olivier Ward is co-founder and editor of online juggernaut Gin Foundry, an independent website that covers all things gin. Gin Foundry conducts hundreds of gin reviews, none of which are paid for, and is also behind Junipalooza, the international ‘meet the maker’ gin festival that exploded onto the scene in 2013. Olivier and brother Emile started Gin Foundry in 2010, and coverage on the site is now so highly sought after that they’ve had to hide their address due to the sheer amount of unsolicited samples they’re sent on weekly basis. If anyone knows the gin market inside out, it’s Olivier, so we were sure to get his opinion on the industry that’s overflowing with new brands. Is this peak gin? Is that a bad thing? Where’s it going to be in five years? Which brands are doing a good job of connecting with their consumers? If you love gin, you don’t want to miss this. Following Olivier, we dial the Bon Vivant in Edinburgh, Scotland, to chat to bar manager Daniel Smith. The Bon Vivant has previously been crowned Best International Restaurant Bar at Tales of the Cocktail, and Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards. Key Points 4:40 Olivier’s gin journey 8:15 Where is the gin market is at 12:30 Have we reached peak gin? 21:10 Barrel-aged gin 25:00 How Gin Foundry selects its gins 29:40 Olivier’s favourite gin brands 37:55 The emerging markets 41:20 Junipalooza 46:25 Olivier's take on tonic 49:30 Appellation controls? Resources, bars and products mentioned Gin Foundry Junipalooza Help Gin Foundry research the gin market by filling out their Ginfographic Last week's episode with Robert Simonson
Recently the Gals visited Junipalooza presented by the Gin Foundry. Here are some sound bites of their experiences. Interviews with: Anther Spirits https://www.anther.com.au/ Imbue Distillery https://www.imbuedistillery.com/ Great Ocean Road Gin https://greatoceanroadgin.com.au/ Bellarine Distillery https://www.bellarinedistillery.com.au/gin/ Underground Spirits https://www.undergroundspirits.com.au/
He was always been one step ahead of the gin craze. Olivier Ward, our guest today, worked for the powerhouse Hendricks in its early days, wrote one of the first gin blogs, and ultimately founded the Home of Gin, aka the Gin Foundry. Gin Foundry has grown as fast as the gin industry! Just when you think everything that involves gin has been done, they come up with something exciting: the invention of the Ginvent, the Advent Calendar with a different gin for every day before Christmas, the creation of Junipalooza, the annual Gin Festival with over 50 gin distillers presenting, and the Ginsmith Awards, which are up and coming. Interested in all things gin - Olivier is your man! Where you can hear me drinking next: Next week, we travel back in time to 19thC France where Alexandre Le Grand threw together 27 herbs and spices to create the liqueur Benedictine. We’ll get a crash course on its history from Yolande de Bueil and meet bartender Marc Jean who will teach us a few things about making cocktails with the stuff. Are you a regular listener of Lush Life? You can get this and all future audio files automatically downloaded to your mobile device easy. If you're on iOS, you can listen with iTunes. It's easy to listen on Android, too. Or click the player or link below to listen to just this episode. (But trust me, you'll want to subscribe!) Download the audio file