Tanqueray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tanqueray is a brand of British gin which is marketed worldwide. The brand is currently owned by beverage giant Diageo Plc.
Tanqueray Gin was initially distilled in 1830, by Charles Tanqueray who was descended from three generations of clergy from the village of Tingreth in Bedfordshire. At 20 he chose not to follow the family calling and established a distillery in the Bloomsbury district of London instead. When Charles died, in 1868, the company passed into the hands of his heir, Charles Waugh Tanqueray. During World War II the distillery was almost completely destroyed. After the great air raid of 1941 only one of the stills, known as "Old Tom," survived and it is still in use today at the distillery in Cameronbridge, Scotland. The gin is primarily produced in Scotland and exported to its major market, the US. It is a London Dry Gin, so called because of the distillation process, not the origin of the product.
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[edit] Products
Tanqueray London Dry Gin. The original variant, launched in 1830; the key botanicals are juniper, coriander and angelica root. It is produced at 94 proof (47% alcohol). The top markets for sales are US, Canada, Spain, Duty Free and Japan.
Tanqueray No. Ten was introduced in 2000 and targeted at the martini market. It goes through a quadruple-distillation and is produced from fresh whole-fruit such as grapefruits, lemons and limes. No. Ten is produced at 94.6 proof (47.3% alcohol). The top markets are the US, Canada, Duty Free and Japan.
Tanqueray Sterling Vodka was introduced in 1989 and is available in both neutral and citrus flavors. Its main market is the US.
Tanqueray Rangpur Gin was introduced in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2006. It has a strong lime flavor, the result of rangpur limes, ginger, and bay leaves being added during the final distillation process. It is produced at 82.6 proof (41.3% alcohol) and is now available nationwide in the United States.
Tanqueray Malacca Gin (discontinued) was introduced in 2000 as a "wetter" alternative to the London Dry, with more sweetness and a stronger fruit palate (most notably grapefruit). It suffered from poor marketing and the product failed to catch on with gin drinkers. It was discontinued in 2004.
[edit] Advertisement
Tony Sinclair, a highly-esteemed socialite, is Tanqueray's fictional spokesman in the US, played by Philadelphia-based actor/dancer Rodney Mason.[1] He has appeared in four advertising spots so far. One ad takes place on an Arctic cruise and in another Tony pokes fun at a man who is overzealous at the shrimp cocktail plate. Sinclair also attends an event where a man plays "Deck the Halls" on drinking glasses filled with differing volumes of Tanqueray. In another spot, Sinclair has the perfect ice cube extracted for his drink.
It appears that the ploy behind this advertising campaign is to simply have the audience wondering: "Who is Tony Sinclair?", thereby instilling the name Tony Sinclair as well as the commercial in the viewers mind.
[edit] Trivia
- Mr. Jenkins was the company's fictional spokesman in its 1990s print advertisements. Mr. Jenkins's face was that of retired executive Ridgely Harrison, Jr.[2]
- The late Johnnie Johnson (known best as Chuck Berry's piano player) wrote a song named Tanqueray. It appears on the album Blue Hand Johnnie which was released in 1991.
- The Notorious B.I.G. references Tanqueray in his song "Everyday Struggle" on the album Ready to Die. He quotes, "But they don't know about the stress-filled days, baby on the way mad bills to pay, that's why you drink Tanqueray, so you can reminisce and wish you wasn't living so devilish."[3]
- More recently, Amy Winehouse mentions the drink in "You Know I'm No Good". The first verse contains the line "You say What did you do with him today? And sniffed me out like I was Tanqueray."
- In the song "I Got 5 on It" by the Luniz, they say, "but the Tanqueray straight had me."
- In the song "Gin & Juice" by Snoop Dogg, the third verse starts with "Later on that day, My homey Dr. Dre came through with a gang of Tanqueray"
- In the song "It Aint Easy" by 2pac he makes the reference "It ain't easy, that's my motto Drinkin Tanqueray straight out the bottle" to the beverage.
- In the song "Somebody Put Something In My Drink" by The Ramones a line goes "Tanqueray and Tonic, I take for a drink, I don't like anything comin' pink"
[edit] References
Amy Winehouse. Song:You know im no good. Reference:"Sniff me out like I was Tanqueray."
- ^ Slate.com - "Pushing Gin: The foppish weirdo who wants you to drink Tanqueray"
- ^ http://www.boobis.com/titanic/nyt2.html
- ^ http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/everydaystruggle.html
