i used to subscribe to america's bicycling magazine, back in the days when the uk market consisted solely of the comic. yes, certain of their features didn't travel across the pond too well and it was irritating not to be able to purchase (in pre-internet days), one or two of the items advertised therein. however, aside from the 'two nations separated by a common language' cliché, the biggest surprise was the preponderance of advertisements for cars and rugged pickups, the latter usually augmented by two bicycles clamped to the floorpan at the rear. there was/is a certain logic to this; america is a darned sight bigger than the uk, entailing often considerably greater distances travelled to find suitable cycling country, particularly for those of the offroad fraternity.
this was certainly not a trend reflected in the cycling press on this side of the atlantic, at least, not on a regular basis.
since those far off, halcyon days of yore, britain's cycle press has both expanded and contracted, nonetheless, offering potential advertisers from the dark-side the opportunity to promote their wares to the velocipedinally inclined. it's not a situation that has happened often, at least, not that i've noticed, but immediately following prince bradley's competitive success, the motor industry seemed keen to capitalise on cycling's raised profile, offering built-in bicycle racks and occasionally, branded bicycles all of their very own. placing adverts in the cycling press for such 'innovations' made logical sense.
however, much as my in-built prejudice against the motor car had me utter a haughty reproach against those who displayed such a flagrant breach of trust (perhaps a bit over-the-top, but you no doubt catch my drift), there's little doubt that the marketing of motor vehicles is a tad more advanced than that applied to the bicycle. in fact, let's face it; the marketing of anything in the world, apart from ferrero rocher chocolates is more advanced than that of the bicycle industry. but, leaving aside such criticisms for the moment, i was brought to question why none of the larger players (specialized, trek, giant, et al), were not to be seen advertising in motoring magazines.
the general rebuff i received for even raising the question in the first place, mostly revolved around the cost of so doing. there is a great deal more money in cars than there is in bikes. that's precisely why i targeted only the larger cycle manufacturers. they presumably owned sufficient marketing cash to at least make inroads in this direction. i must assume that my premise was, indeed, wrong, for though i do not subscribe to any examples of the motoring press, i have not been made aware of any such 'contra-advertising'.
yet, it is but a matter of days since i advised you of a growing preponderance of cycle jerseys featured in the visitor centres of islay malt whisky distilleries. bruichladdich, in point of fact, offer two: the standard blue version along with jersey and shorts representing their port charlotte edition. add to the latter, a new jersey from islay's ninth distillery at ardnahoe, joining the veterans at ardbeg and endura's bowmore jersey. and only just this past week, i was advised that one of islay's other distilleries is well on the way to offering a remarkably attractive jersey within the coming months.
one can only assume that the distilleries have noted an increasing influx of cycle-borne visitors to their premises, to whom they are keen to cater, in addition to the more usual reason for visiting a distillery. and as such, we need also concern ourselves with gin, a drink that is verging on market saturation at the moment. bruichladdich offer 'the botanist' gin, containing 22 botanicals, a friend of mine is the owner of islay gin and islay's planned tenth distillery, one just clearing regional planning permission, has stated that it too, intends to produce a gin product.
so what is the bicycle industry doing about that incursion? i'm glad you asked that question, for the chiltern-based puddingstone distillery has teamed up with luxury cycle clothing purveyors ashmei to produce domestique gin. this limited edition drink was first curated in 2017, proving so popular, that it was decided the drink was worth a reprise for the 2018 rouleur classic. strictly limited to 200, laser-engraved, stainless steel bidons, the drink was highly commended in last year's classic gin category at the craft distilling expo.
my reader will be well aware that the strongest beverage in which i'm inclined to indulge, is a small glass of tropicana orange juice. so how on earth could i make you aware of whether ashmei's 'domestique' gin is the very tipple for a friday night after a hard week at the office? thankfully, mrs washingmachinepost has no such scruples regarding the ingestion of alcohol (in moderation, of course) and was more than happy to sample the concoction of botanicals such as french hops, spanish orange, italian rosemary, californian raisins, belgian angelica and chiltern rosehip. the choice of these is no accident; they represent the principal homelands of our great sport.
according to mrs washingmachinepost, the gin is an excellent refreshment in which to imbibe after five days of childminding. it's a recommendation that she says is transferable across all manner of daily travails, and apparently extends to both saturday and sunday too. the joyous part of this particular equation is that, when all is said and done and consumed, i get a rather attractive, stainless steel bidon with which to accessorise the ritchey logic. that will match well with the ashmei bibshorts soon to be reviewed.
for those of you who may wish to augment your own weekend evenings' refreshment, ashmei's domestique gin can still be ordered for february delivery. cost per stainless steel bottle is £45.
monday 28 january 2019
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