The New York Times has an interesting piece about a battle between the makers of two new gins, one named Brooklyn, the other, Breuckelen. Inherent in the battle is the power of the “Brooklyn” label, a name that projects a sort of high-brow, uber-cool, local artisanal purity.
As the fab Frank Bruni at the Times writes in the story, “As Brooklyn as possible: a decade ago that might have been the goal of a pizza baker or hot-dog maker. Now it’s the rallying cry of a broader, trendier array of food and beverage entrepreneurs (as well as garage bands, budding designers and more). New Yorkers’ obsession with all things culinary, refracted through Brooklyn’s exaltation of all things artisanal, has led to beers, jams, mustards, spiced nuts, cheeses and more made in Brooklyn and marketed with an emphasis on that provenance.
