So What If It Says ‘Craft’ On The Label?

The phone rang at Sky Wave Gin HQ.  Some chap wanted a reference for a supplier.  I was happy to give it – the supplier in question was extremely helpful and always delivered.  Then we got to chatting.

“What do you guys do?”, I asked.
“Oh, we’re launching a new range of spirits.”
“Oh really?”, I respond, “what sort of spirits?”
“A range of craft gins.”
“How exciting, delighted to meet you, and welcome to the craft,” I effuse, “where do you distil?”
“Oh, we don’t distil.  We’re using contract distillers in London.  They’ve created it all for us.  They can produce thousands of bottles at a time, not like these little distilleries.”
“Ah, ok.  So what makes it craft then?”
“Oh, you know, it sells better if we call it craft”.

We ended the call pretty soon after that. I don’t think I was quite so welcoming in the end.  I was a bit miffed. My ‘craft’ had been hijacked.  Usurped.  Prostituted.  How dare they claim to be craft!  How dare they mass produce, not even caring about the actual process, only to write ‘craft’ on the label.  How was that even legal?

Well, it seems it is legal.  There’s no formal, binding definition of craft in the industry.  It doesn’t mean small.  It doesn’t mean hand made.  It doesn’t mean laboured over with love and care in every single batch.  It seems it doesn’t actually mean anything at all, and any Tom, Dick or Harriet can write ‘craft’ on every one of their 900,000 labels and the public think they’re getting something made in a shed in Scunthorpe when in fact it’s been made in a huge factory – anywhere.

Then, spare a thought for Dan, who really is making multi-award winning craft gin in a converted kitchen in his house in Kineton; or Barney, crafting the most incredible ultra-premium spirits in tiny batches which are taken in small quantities by the most prestigious of restaurants; or Zoe and Andy who make their also award-winning sustainable gin in a shed – yes, a real shed – in Ulverston.  These guys are the real craft, distilling their expressions with true devotion, by hand always.

I was moved to look up ‘craft’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.  I thought I knew what it meant, but I wanted to check.  And there it was: ‘skill, art, trade, especially by hand’.  Just as I thought.  But hang on! Reading further: ‘cunning, deceit’.  Oh, the justice!  That really made my day, to find those words were also an interpretation.

So, gin aficionado, when you’re contemplating your next gin purchase, if the concept of a truly craft gin is important to you, if you believe the months and years of development, care, attention to detail, sheer angst and love – yes love – to make that spirit the best it possibly can be, are at the heart of our craft, then please read the label, soak up the provenance, and decide.  Was it made by Dan, Barney or Zoe, with art and skill, by hand?  Or does the ‘craft’ on the label, on that bottle in your hand, really just mean deceit?