Hendrick's Gin is a unique Scottish gin well known for its unusual infusions, the Bulgarian rose and cucumber to add flavour. We had the pleasure of having a one-on-one interview with the Hendricks brand ambassador about all things gin, history and a day in the life of an alcohol ambassador:
KenyaBuzz: What's the Hendricks story?
Ally Martin: We're part of the family owned company called William Grant & Sons. Their history stretches way back into 1887, or Christmas day 1886 to be more precise. The Hendricks story really begins in the sixties: - there's a guy called Charlie Garden who's in charge of the family at that point in time, mostly known for making whisky the likes of Glenfiddich, Grants, big whisky brands and great products, mostly whisky focussed. He goes out and buys his two stills, there's a very old still called bennet still and a very rare type of still called carter-head still. Brings them back to our distillery which is in a place called Girvan which is just outside of Glasgow in Scotland, brings them back, polishes them up and takes them to their farm and then they sit there in the warehouse doing nothing for 23 years.
No one is quite sure what to do with it, no one is quite sure what they want to create because they know they want to make a gin but they're not quite sure what they want to do. In 1989, he called Lesley Gracey*(the master distiller of Hendricks) and starts working with us, the liquid and the idea came from her brain - she spent ten years working on the recipe and working on a recipe that uses those two stills to create one liquid.
Now, no one had ever done that before, primarily because it takes a lot longer - takes twice the amount of time and its very complex to be able to make the gin in that way, its quite a challenge it took her a long time to do it and that really what makes us stand out. We launched in 1999 and we've gone on from then, initially it started off as being quite a small thing but we've grown over the years and people have kind of started to really love gin at the same time we've kind of started to arrive us a brand so it's been really nice for us. Were not the oldest brand in the world but we pay a lot of homage to the fact that we're part of a family owned company with a lot of heritage.
KenyaBuzz: What's your story?
Ally Martin: I used to bar tend, when I was in university- it was a way of making money and I fell in love with the traits, the hospitality and making drinks. I find all that kind of thing really fascinating, really enjoyable and it was just a fantastic way to spend time as far as I'm concerned.
I became very passionate about it. I spent about 8 years doing that and then I moved into a position where I started doing the job I do now but for the UK, so I was a UK ambassador for Hendricks.
KenyaBuzz: How many countries in total has your gin tasting escapade taking you to?
Ally Martin: I've been to Denmark, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, France, USA, Mexico, Tanzania, Kenya of course and Germany. They are all nice counties, which have all been completely different from one another except from the UK and Ireland which are pretty much the same, I've had a lot of great experiences. For instance, in Kenya, what's been really nice about it is people are just really warm and friendly and welcoming.
It's really nice when you go to a country and people speak so passionately about it and they're always telling me different places I need to visit in the country. The food and drinking scene here has been on another level than what I initially expected - the standards have been so high.
KenyaBuzz: Have you tried any local Kenyan drinks?
I've tried tusker, they have it everywhere especially in the UK they have quite a lot.
Ally Martin: How big is Hendricks in Scotland?
It's one of the biggest gins in Scotland, it's very popular. Gin in the UK has grown very dramatically over the years which has put us in a very good position partly because of our Scottish heritage and partly just because people like drinking gin in the UK so it does well
KenyaBuzz: How do you like taking your gin?
It depends on the kind of mood I'm in to be honest, there's so many gins, very versatile and it works in so many different ways. I guess the most basic way is a gin and tonic so on a day like today, it's a perfect gin and tonic day. Loads of ice, three slices of cucumber and of tonic water - it's like dry and crisp and light and fresh but I love martinis as well.
Ally Martin: I find it weird that one would pick a rose and a cucumber and for an infusion. What's the reason behind that?
The reason behind it is that gin uses botanicals (herbs and spices) and juniper has to be the main one but other than that you can use pretty much anything but a lot of those spices they come from countries which are miles away from Britain and we wanted to choose two botanicals which were uniquely British so cucumber and rose gardens.
KenyaBuzz: Give us an easy, DIY cocktail we can whip up at home for our guests:
Off the top of my head, I'd say mules so it's just gin, ginger beer ice that's really fresh and light. Also, apple juice and ginger beer mixed together and another great thing is punch- it's a really easy to do you can make a big bowl and everyone can get in there and share. It's a really nice kind of way to share drinks with friends
Ally Martin: So, in your bio, I've seen that you've won a bunch of cocktail events. What does that mean?
A cocktail competition is basically one where you come up with a drink and everyone else in the competition will do the same thing and those drinks will be judged on which one tastes the best. Normally, there's really great prizes in these kind of competitions, which is surprising
KenyaBuzz: How was the experience being a bartender when you were young?
You have to be so many things, you're going to be able to have to listen to mane people's problems - you have to be like a therapist at times but you're also someone who can make sure two people are having a nice date; also making sure that people who've been off work for a long time and they're come to the club for the first time in a long time you want to give them a wild night out so you're going to put different hats all throughout the night, you're doing a million different jobs at a time.
KenyaBuzz: Would you say that helped you with what you're doing now, that experience of being a bar tender?
Yes, certainly that aspect of it - speaking to people is a key aspect of being a bartender and I usually have to speak to people which is nice - you meet different people every day, the same way you would while working behind the bar
Ally Martin: As a brand ambassador what's your main focus?
My main role is to try and get people from around the world to get as excited as I am. Be that bartenders, be that gin drinkers across the world, what we want to do is to build a love and passion inside them about our product and the way we make it
KenyaBuzz: What advice would you give a person who's aspiring to be a brand ambassador
I'd say just learn as much as you can. You don't necessarily have to work at a bar but just try and be as creative as you possibly can. Try and push yourself and try and learn as much as you can if you're working behind a bar
Ally Martin: What cocktail pick would you recommend for a first-time gin drinker?
I guess the gin and tonic is the one- that's the drink you'd have at the very start. But also, it's a drink that works if you're an experienced gin drinker as well. So, what's good about it is that it works in almost every occasion.
KenyaBuzz: Do you face any challenges in your line of work?
Yes, loads! So, we're available in 92 markets across the world so I guess the biggest challenge is every market is completely different; it has a different culture, people have different ways of drinking; people may enjoy whisky more than they enjoy gin and you've got to look at those problems and find ways to overcome them and show them how great the product is.
Ally Martin: What's a day like in your life?
It changes all the time but this week, I flew into TZ on Sunday night and then we did two events in there and flew into Kenya and did two events yesterday and another one today; and then interviews and a couple of photo shoots as well, so that's like a fast paced time within a country but then sometimes Id just be home working on some projects or maybe Id be at the distillery working with the distillery team on what they are doing and trying to get a better appreciation for their role, its very varied all the time.
KenyaBuzz: What has been your biggest win, market wise?
Ally Martin: We've done some pretty amazing events across throughout the year, we do what we call the Hendricks year departure launch with bartenders, what we do is that we give them the ultimate lounge experience when they're at a bar show. In London we set up our own transport department, we set up a bus where people could travel the city in the Hendricks bus and we gave out a bunch of newspapers and that worked really well. In America we made our very own flying cucumber, which flew across the country, so those have been a couple of big wins.

About The Author

Author
Alix Grubel

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