City of London Distillery redesigns labels and celebrates new listings

At an event to celebrate its fifth anniversary, the City of London Distillery unveiled its redesigned labels and presented a bespoke gin made with cubeb, once sold as an aphrodisiac, to the Lord Mayor of London.

The gin distillery presented its new labels at the celebratory event on Friday last week which include a larger logo and a new gold crest on the neck, with the original (authentic) gin now housed in a blue rather than clear glass bottle.

The gin producer has now secured additional listing across London in Waitrose, Mitchell’s & Butler, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.

Speaking at the event, The Lord Mayor of London, Charles Bowman, gave a brief history of the brand and detailed why it held a special place in his heart.

Referring to the 18th century London Gin Craze, during which in certain parts of the capital, one in four houses was a gin shop, the mayor added: “Prets have now replaced the gin shop, but personally I prefer a gin to an avocado wrap.

“Given my busy schedule, I’m often forced to decline invitations, but I always find time for a visit to the City of London distillery! It was the first distillery in the City for around 200 years and it has since become a landmark.

“When I’m abroad, I find myself speaking with pride about our city of culture, its rule of law and of course, its award-winning gin.

“The City of London had early support from the Corporation of London and more recently Halewood has become a major shareholder”.

The Lord Mayor was then presented with a bottle of limited-edition gin, one of just 330 made by the distillery, produced using cubeb pepper, an early aphrodisiac.

James Stocker, marketing director at COLD, said: “The industry has recognised The City of London Distillery as a brand of incredible quality and we believe it has huge growth potential, which is of course reflected in the investment we are making to strengthen its identity in what is an extremely competitive market.

“The brand has played a unique part in the capital’s gin revival and has heritage and authenticity at its core. With new premium listings and with a growing number of exciting experiences on-site for consumers in the heart of town, City of London Distillery is well placed to capitalise on the projected category growth this year”.

As as well as the distillery itself, COLD’s Bride Line site also houses a gin laboratory and bar and hosts bookable gin tours. The range now includes the City of London Authentic Gin, Christopher Wren in, Old Tom Gin, Sloe Gin and Square Mile London Dry Gin.