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Imagine travelling the UK and Europe, cocktail in hand, just to taste the world’s finest new gins – and getting paid for it. Sound like a dream job? It actually exists, and one islander came very close to securing the gin-teresting role out of 5,000 applicants.
Jersey-born Sam De Gruchy (24) had expected to go travelling after university, but a recurring sports injury, which required four operations, had put an unexpected fork in the road for his plans last year.
While questioning what to do, an opportunity “landed in [his] lap” after a friend tagged him in a viral social media post.
ILoveGin, a monthly gin subscription service headquartered in London, were advertising for a brand new “gintern” who would be on the cutting edge of the European gin scene, trialling out the latest spirit trends – and to the tune of £20,000 a year.
Pictured: Sam preparing another one of his gin-novative cocktails.
As someone who had “got a bit of a taste for it” in recent years, Sam decided to “really go for it”, making a witty video application in full suit with the help of local photographer Callum Thorne mostly as a bit of fun, not thinking where it might lead.
“A couple of months later, I got some attention back. I’d almost forgotten about it, but it just kind of just snowballed from there,” he told Express.
“Previously, I had infused my own stuff, but probably quite clumsily. I wouldn’t really think about the gin I was using, I really just grabbed a bottle and would go from there. The other thing I used to do was G&T ice lollies with Calippo moulds. They’re really nice when it’s starting to get warm outside… But I’d never done anything like that [the competition] before.”
In his video, he wooed judges with his review of a ginfusion of Jersey-distilled La Mare Royal Gin paired with 1724 tonic water and a red grapefruit peel garnish.
Video: Sam De Gruchy reviews La Mare's Royal Gin. (Sam De Gruchy/Callum Thorne)
From 5,000 applicants, that total was whittled down to 400, and then from 32 to eight.
Called to the London ‘Ginstitute’ at Portobello Road for the final round, Sam was tasked with a producing a unique cocktail.
Having already wowed the panel with his La Mare creation, Sam decided to “fly the flag” once more for the Island by creating a 'Carrot Top Vesper' - a unique blend of organic Jersey carrots and rosemary, which he began infusing two weeks in advance. But disaster struck, as he explained:
"I had all the ingredients I needed for my perfect serve packed and checked in to the last flight to Gatwick. This included the infusion that had taken two weeks to prepare, some Lillet Blanc, a pink grapefruit for the garnish and even my own channel knife just in case... Unfortunately, [the airline] felt they would send all of these things, as well as my clothes and essentials, to Belfast instead of Gatwick... It meant I was then romping around Gatwick at 22:00 filling out forms and searching frantically for my bag in the knowledge that the Gintern day was starting at 10am sharp the next morning. Despite multiple phone calls made to Jersey and Gatwick at 5.30am the next morning my bag was nowhere to be seen. It meant I had to head over to Portobello road in my clothes from the night before, a phone with next to no battery, and only my A2 flavour map I’d carried on as hand luggage, now almost entirely redundant given my ginfusion was nowhere to be seen!"
Pictured: Sam strains one of his gin-fusions.
Despite the catastrophic gin-cident, some quick thinking and knowledge stood him in good stead, and he was able to come up with a last-minute 'Jasmine' gin delight - albeit at 6:00.
Sadly, the interview process, which also involved a "reverse interview" with the ILoveGin team, wasn't the start of a new beg-gin-ing, but has encouraged him to consider the industry more seriously. He's now looking to undertake a month-long cocktail masterclass in Milan or Rome to kickstart his travels, using what he's learned from the intensive process to drive him forward. ILoveGin have also told him that they'd love to work together in future.
"I'm gutted not to have made it... But it’s something that I’ve already had a little bit of steam, but this has been a huge catalyst and I’m really excited to carry on learning about cocktails and that sort of stuff. The possibilities are literally endless."
Pictured: Sam with the seven other 'gintern' finalists, who were selected from 5,000 applicants.
So what would his advice be to burgeoning ginthusiasts? "Usually you want to look at what’s already in the drink in terms of flavours, and you’ve got to strike a balance between not wanting to create a clash. So if you’ve got a lemony citrusy drink, you don’t want to be adding more lemon into your infusion, but also you also want to compliment what’s already there as well. I went for something slightly vegetal because the gin that we were using was spicy and had a lot of juniper in it.
"When you're infusing, use glass bottles or jars, not metal or plastic. Other than that, it’s just a case of experimenting with flavours that you like. With stronger flavours, you’ve got to be more careful, so with cinnamon or vanilla, they can really overpower the drink if you put too much in, but weaker flavours like cucumber require a lot more to get their flavours across.
"There are no rules really, it's just about experimenting with flavours you love."
For those who need a little more guidance, Sam shared his perfect summer cocktail with Express - a Raspberry and Elderflower Smash. "It's got that floral element to it, so it lends itself perfectly to summer. It’s just a really refreshing one to have outside."
10 Fresh raspberries
50ml Gin
15ml Elderflower liquor
25ml Sugar syrup
20ml Lemon juice
Club soda
Lemon wedge to garnish
Muddle eight of the raspberries to a pulp in the bottom of a cocktail shaker.
Add gin, elderflower liquor, lemon juice, sugar syrup and plenty of ice. Shake vigorously.
Strain into a tall/high-ball glass filled to the top with ice. Top up with soda water.
Garnish with remaining two raspberries and/or a lemon wedge and serve immediately!
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