Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1036886
82 / the tasting panel / october 2018 CATEGORY REPORT Approachability Rules: SEERSUCKER SOUTHERN STYLE GIN Seersucker Gin owes its origin to an unlikely friend: vodka. After building a distillery in San Antonio in 2010, husband-and-wife team Trey and Kimberly Azar started their business from the ground up through the production of their Cinco Vodka brand. Years spent marketing and distributing Cinco showed the couple that there was a strong desire for more gin options at on-premise accounts; the category, however, has historically been almost completely dominated by imported brands, which can be intimidating for vodka drinkers looking to branch out to a new category. "We saw this and wanted to make our own gin that could be stylistically approachable, fun, and enticing for newcomers to try," Trey says. The pair got stuck on the specifics until one day Trey found himself stuck in line behind two young men in seersucker shorts at a coffee shop. As he overheard them discuss which Kentucky Derby parties they were planning on attending, Trey immediately called his wife to let her know inspiration had finally struck. "Seersucker has an Americana feel—its history starts from South with this back-porch, Southern-hospitality aspect and wraps all the way up the Northeast on Martha's Vineyard—and I knew we wanted to channel that both stylistically and in the flavor profile," Trey explains. Both regions influenced the development of their brand's recipe, with the duo narrow- ing in on Southern kitchens and the sense of comfort they provide. Above all, the Azars knew they wanted to stand out from the pre-existing heavy hitters in the category, namely juniper-heavy London Dry gins.