What Happens When You Don’t Follow the Spirits Playbook
How James Gin shattered industry dogma and turned DTC into a cult business model.
In the spirits industry, there’s a long list of can’ts:
You can’t scale DTC.
You can’t build a brand without a distributor.
You can’t launch in the US from the UK without boots on the ground.
You can’t lead with content in a product-first industry.
Founded by James May, best known for his role on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, James Gin has become a $1M+ DTC brand in the US alone. With no traditional distributor and a content-driven approach, the brand has carved out a unique space in the market.
Vishal Patel, CEO of James Gin, generously agreed to my recorded video interview where I learn all about their super edgy strategy - yes!
Its important to note: it all started “as a bit of a joke” - as many of the best things do.
01. Media First, Liquid Second
“We are essentially a media company that happens to sell an incredibly tasty gin.”
James Gin posts content on everything from chess tutorials to reviewing the Tesla Cybertruck. The brand has an extremely impressive amount of followers - over 1.1M across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
While most spirits brands still focus on product imagery and tasting notes, James Gin tells stories. It builds around fans, not just consumers, and the product (savory gins like London Drizzle and Asian Parsnip) becomes a narrative artifact within a larger media universe.
And the authenticity and media-first approach sells, even if its not **trying to sell** - Vishal breaks it down here:
02. DTC That Defies the Odds
If you ask around the industry, you’ll hear that DTC is a “necessary evil,” important for visibility, but rarely profitable.
James Gin proves otherwise.
Without even intending to, the brand built a DTC engine in the US that generated over $1M in 2024 alone. With an average order of 2+ bottles, 42-state reach, and a 30% reorder rate every quarter, they’ve built not just a sales channel—but a real relationship with their audience.
By refusing to “wait for the right distributor” and going direct, they now use that DTC data to shape retail strategy, knowing who their customer is before scaling where they shop.
03. Redefining Celebrity in Spirits
James May is undeniably a celebrity. But James Gin doesn’t feel like a typical “celebrity brand.”
James is a consistent voice in the brand’s content, sharing thoughts, exploring flavor, posting irreverent (and often irrelevant) videos of himself talking. And he’s very funny. Who wants to see another celebrity looking “cool” and “hot” holding a bottle? Who cares?
We like this instead:
Brand building is not about aesthetics alone, its about building a world. And James Gin has built one fans actually want to live in.
04. The Hybrid Path to Scale
Their US retail play is not mass distribution (at least not yet).
They’re self-distributing with Park Street in key states (CA, NY, NJ, FL), working directly with retailers, and building relationships store by store. It’s a controlled, customer-centric growth path, a hybrid model rooted in high-touch DTC learning.
“We just don’t have the time or money to chase 1,000 accounts,” Vishal told us. “So we go deep where we can have control, and where it matters.”
The Takeaways:
“Young people aren’t drinking anymore” - yeah, ok.
James Gin is capitalizing on the younger American consumer’s interest in premium gin - and meeting them where they are at.
More on this:
James Gin shows us what happens when you behave like a content company that just happens to sell spirits — rather than a traditional spirits company.
When you start with fans and stay with fans.
When you ignore the old “rules.”
Welcome to the New Rules, baby.
The New Rules of Bev/Alc is a newsletter, an annual report, and an approach. Curious to learn more and/or partner? Reach out: hi@nihilo.agency.
Fun thing: Coming to BCB? Come hear us speak with Park Street University!
❤️,
Nihilo
Some follow up:
» As per our last newsletter with Emma Wykes (who took Seedlip to exit), we tried Sylva, generously shipped to our hotel in London (we were judging the D&AD awards in London and having a pre-launch event for our own brand, Esther Rum). It was incredibly surprising - soft but edgy from the authentically wood flavor. Unlike anything I have ever tried before. I have a feeling this brand will become a serious trailblazer, especially with the likes of Emma at the helm!
» And…here is a picture of James Gin’s Marketing Manager Emma Jamieson chit-chatting with Theo Garcia, founder of Solo Coffee at an event we curated in London. Just sharing for fun - bev worlds unite!
