The global gin category has never been more crowded. New brands launch every week, menus keep expanding, and consumers are faced with more choices than ever. In this landscape, finding gin is no longer the challenge. Choosing the right one is.

We spoke with Philipp Fleischer, co-owner of the GINferno app, to explore how digital platforms are reshaping discovery, decision-making, and what “quality” really means in today’s gin market.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

How can digital platforms capture quality beyond a single tasting moment?

A single tasting moment is always subjective and time-bound. It’s the experience of one single person. Digital platforms allow quality to evolve and show feedback from the gin community rather than from just one individual. By combining repeated tastings, contextual feedback, and community validation, quality becomes a living concept rather than a snapshot.

On GINferno, quality is not just “how did it taste once”, but how a gin performs across different serves, occasions, and user experiences. This creates a much more realistic picture of true product quality.

How often do bartenders rely on digital serve guides when recommending gins?

Bartenders increasingly rely on digital serve guides as a confidence and consistency tool. Especially with a growing number of gins, no professional can remember every perfect serve or botanical profile. Digital serve guides don’t replace expertise; they support it.

They help bartenders give confident recommendations that are aligned with the producer’s intent, even when the gin is new or unfamiliar. For “real” bartenders, GINferno is a nice to have, but there is a huge lack of gin knowledge among part-time workers, non-skilled, and non-trained service staff.

How can a gin move from discovery to menu placement faster through digital exposure?

Digital exposure shortens the distance between discovery and decision. When a gin is already known through a trusted platform, supported by ratings, clear positioning, and a recommended serve, the perceived risk for menu placement drops significantly.

Instead of asking “Should we try this?”, venues ask “How do we serve this properly?”. That shift is what accelerates menu adoption.

Source: Philipp Fleischer

How does the GINferno platform help brands showcase not just flavor, but how their gin should be enjoyed?

GINferno allows brands to present the complete experience: the recommended tonic, garnish, serve style, and the emotional context of enjoyment. This helps consumers and professionals understand not just what a gin tastes like, but why it tastes that way and how it delivers its best experience.

What role should digital communities play in future portfolio strategy?

Digital communities are becoming an essential feedback layer for portfolio strategy. They reveal how products are actually used, discussed, and recommended in real life, not just how they are positioned on paper.

Brands that listen to these communities can make better decisions on line extensions, packaging, and even market prioritization. Community insight turns portfolio management from an assumption-based into an evidence-based strategy.

How will global standards of quality evolve through shared digital experiences?

Global quality standards will increasingly be shaped by shared digital experiences rather than isolated expert opinions. When people across countries evaluate gins using similar language, criteria, and serving concepts, a common understanding of quality emerges.

Digital platforms enable this convergence by making experiences comparable, repeatable, and transparent, while still leaving room for regional taste and cultural preferences.

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