Tanqueray is a brand of

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

produced by

Diageo plc Diageo plc ( ) is a British multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world. Diageo-owned distilleri ...

. It originated in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. While it does not command a sizable market share in its native market, its largest market is

the US The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Tanqueray is a

London dry gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink flavoured with juniper berries and other botanical ingredients. Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The modern gin was modified in Flanders and the Netherlands ...

, reflecting its distillation process and origin in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

, London. Tanqueray London dry gin is made by four time distilled grain, with select botanicals added during the second distillation. While the Tanqueray recipe is a closely guarded

trade secret A trade secret is a form of intellectual property (IP) comprising confidential information that is not generally known or readily ascertainable, derives economic value from its secrecy, and is protected by reasonable efforts to maintain its conf ...

, it is known to contain four botanicals:

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

coriander Coriander (), whose leaves are known as cilantro () in the U.S. and parts of Canada, and dhania in parts of South Asia and Africa, is an annual plant, annual herb (''Coriandrum sativum'') in the family Apiaceae. Most people perceive the ...

angelica root ''Angelica archangelica'', commonly known as angelica, garden angelica, wild celery, and Norwegian angelica, is a biennial plant from the family Apiaceae, a subspecies of which is cultivated for its sweetly scented edible stems and roots. Like s ...

and

liquorice Liquorice ( Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

, the same four botanicals from the original recipe. It is one of Diageo's key "strategic brands" earmarked for prioritisation in promotion and distribution worldwide.

History

Tanqueray gin was initially

distilled Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

in 1830 by Charles Tanqueray in

. The retail outlet of Edward & Charles Tanqueray & Co was established on

Vine Street Vine Street is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that runs north–south between Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, and Melrose Avenue. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine being symbolic of Hollywood itself. The intersection has be ...

, London, in 1838. When Charles died in 1868, his son Charles Waugh Tanqueray inherited the distillery, which continued to operate until it was severely damaged during World War II. The only building to survive the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

bombing, now known as "Old Tom", has since been moved to

Cameron Bridge Cameron Bridge is a village in the conurbation of Levenmouth in Fife, Scotland. It is near to the village of Windygates and west of the town of Leven. A distillery was established in the 19th century by the Haig family, which is now part of Di ...

, Scotland. In accordance with a report by ''

The Spirits Business ''The Spirits Business'' is a British magazine aimed at distillers, distillery proprietors and other spirits industry professionals that concentrates on the fine spirits end of the beverage industry. History and profile ''The Spirits Business ...

'', Tanqueray was the highest selling gin in the world for 2016, with nearly three million nine-litre cases sold.

Products

Tanqueray London Dry Gin is the original product that was launched in 1830; its key botanicals are

and

. It is variously sold as: * IMPORTED 47.3%

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

(United States, Canada, Germany and European duty-free shops) * Export Strength 43.1% ABV (Norway and Sweden) * 40% ABV (Australia, Canada, and New Zealand) The United Kingdom got the Export Strength version until 2023, after which it was lowered to 41.3% to avoid increased alcohol duties. The phrase "Export Strength" no longer appears on these bottles. Tanqueray No. Ten Gin (47.3%) was introduced in 2000 and is targeted at the

martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail), a drink made with gin and vermouth, garnished with an olive or a lemon twist * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss auto ...

market. It is distilled four times with whole

grapefruit The grapefruit (''Citrus'' × ''paradisi'') is a subtropical citrus tree known for its relatively large, sour to semi-sweet, somewhat bitter fruit. The flesh of the fruit is segmented and varies in color from pale yellow to dark red. Grapefru ...

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

and

chamomile Chamomile (American English) or camomile (British English; see spelling differences) ( or ) is the common name for several plants of the family Asteraceae. Two of the species, '' Matricaria chamomilla'' and '' Chamaemelum nobile'', are commo ...

flowers. Tanqueray Sterling

Vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

debuted in 1989 and available in both neutral and citrus flavours with most sales in the U.S. Tanqueray Rangpur Gin was introduced in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in the summer of 2006. It has a strong citrus flavor, the result of rangpur limes,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, and

bay leaves The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used as a herb in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. The flavour that a bay leaf ...

added during the final distillation process. It is produced at 82.6 proof (41.3% abv) and is now available throughout the United States and Canada. It is named after the city of

Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...

in Bangladesh from where the name of the citrus also came. Tanqueray Malacca Gin was introduced in 1997 as a "wetter" alternative to the London Dry, with more sweetness and a stronger fruit palate (most notably grapefruit). Discontinued in 2001, Diageo announced on 12 December 2012 (12/12/12) that a 16,000-case limited edition of Tanqueray Malacca would be relaunched in the US, Great Britain, Canada and Western Europe for February 2013. Tanqueray Blackcurrant Royale Gin was introduced in 2021. It has a rich fruity flavor with taste of French

blackcurrant The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

and exotic floral notes. In 2021, Tanqueray launched a

non-alcoholic An alcohol-free or non-alcoholic drink, also known as a temperance drink, is a version of an alcoholic drink made without alcohol, or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. These may take the form of a non-alcoholic mixed drink or non ...

variety of the original called Tanqueray 0.0 , bottled at 0.0% ABV. Past offerings from Tanqueray also include both orange and lemon gins, produced from 1937 until 1957, when both were phased out. Notable

spirits ratings With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels a ...

for Tanqueray included a string of Double Golds (for its basic London Dry) for 2005–2007 from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Later years' competitions saw Tanqueray win a string of silver medals and then another double gold in 2012. Wine Enthusiast rated the London Dry in its "96–100" category in 2007 but gave it a "90–95" in 2011.

Advertising

Tanqueray introduced "Mr. Jenkins", a white-haired, well-dressed spokes-character, in print ads in 1994. He was retired a few years later. In 2004 Tanqueray introduced "Tony Sinclair", a younger, foppish hipster

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

spokes-character in television ads created by Conor Sheridan. Sinclair's

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

at the end of every commercial was "Ready to Tanqueray?" followed by a manic laugh. He was portrayed by Rodney Mason as a madcap socialite of

Black British Black British people or Black Britons"Black Briton, N." ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Oxford UP. December 2024. https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1136579918. are a multi-ethnic group of British people of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Sub-Saharan ...

descent. In the 2008 ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...

'' episode "

The Jet Set The Jet Set was a Polish R&B duo which consists of David Junior Serame and Sasha Strunin. They represented Poland in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki. Eurovision Song Contest 2007 The Jet Set represented Poland i ...

Duck Phillips This is a list of fictional characters in the television series ''Mad Men'', all of whom have appeared in multiple episodes. Overview ;Cast notes: * Maxwell Huckabee and Aaron Hart have split the role of Bobby Draper in the first season, while ...

receives a crate of Tanqueray from his British former advertising colleagues as enticement for Duck to initiate their firm's purchase of Sterling Cooper.

References

Works cited

* *

External links

Official website of Tanqueray ginTanqueray
on thebar UK, owned by Diageo {{Gin distilleries in the United Kingdom Diageo brands Gin brands 1830 introductions 1830 establishments in England English distilled drinks British royal warrant holders