Top Billing heads to London with Tanqueray

The lovely Lorna Maseko was on hand, and her first stop was Glenochil House which is home to the Diageo Archive, where the origins of Tanqueray gin are captured in original, hand-written recipes. For Joanne McKerchar, managing this archive is a dream

Joanne has a personal history with the building as her grandfather worked there in the whiskey trade. Her focus however is gin and working with the Tanqueray team to identify new trends and develop the brand – using the wealth of knowledge in the beautiful old papers stored there.

These archives document the use of botanicals and fruits in the iconic gin, as well as many cocktail recipes – which are valuable to a man Lorna met up with next, Jack Sotti, international award-winning mixologist at the leading edge of gin innovation.

Jack's work with the brand as an ambassador is a dream, and he gets to walk in the footsteps of the man whose work brought gin to the world, Charles Tanqueray.

In the three years Jack has spent visiting hundreds of high-end cocktail bars around the world, none fit the description better than the one on top of the tallest building in Britain. The Shard dominates the British capital and one of its highlights is a bar known simply as The View.

 
 
Among other skyscrapers the world over, The Shard stands out for its elegant simplicity more than its height. Just as Jack sees Tanqueray standing head and shoulders above the thousands of gin brands available today. He says one only needs to taste it to understand, and the incredible cocktails he served Lorna certainly proved it.

 
Cocktails were an innovation born in the American saloons of the eighteen fifties, and gin was the foundation. 

What began with Charles Tanqueray’s experiments at a distillery on the streets of London resulted in a bold, invigorating spirit that stands today at the pinnacle of gin.

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