The Forgotten Gin Made By A Cell Phone Company

T-Mobile's marketing team hit a milestone in June 2021 that called for celebration: 300 million Americans are using the company's 5G network. Better yet, they got here months ahead of schedule. Rather than posting a corporate-themed LinkedIn post like most, they went all out on a marketing blitz. The "products" of that venture aren't something you'd expect from a telecom operator: branded gins.

Called the "Ultra Capacity 5Gin", this corn-based gin, bottled at 94 proof, was made in partnership with a Washington-based distillery. We wouldn't blame you for assuming that it tastes terrible... but surprisingly, reviews were quite good. Most found it approachable without being forgettable. The gin's flavor skewed dry, with juniper taking the lead and a subtle citrus note that came through on the nose. 5Gin, wisely, didn't try to tackle too much at once and be the most complex spirit you've ever tasted — it's a good, mixable gin to celebrate and remind you of the company's network expansion (for a cool price of $30 a bottle MSRP).

Surprisingly, people were extremely receptive to the gin, which disappeared almost immediately. Could be curiosity, could be people finding great collector's value out of the gin, but it sure says something about how attractive a product that tells a story is to most of us.

To make such a tasty bottle of gin, T-Mobile picked Heritage Distilling Company, based in Gig Harbor, Washington, as its partner and supplier. If you've been keeping a close eye on the craft liquor-producing world, you might recognize the name. The American Distilling Institute, the largest trade association for liquors in the U.S., awarded Heritage as the top distillery in North America for ten straight years, and, at one point in 2023, they were the recipient of 66 different medals by the Association. All those accolades, in addition to being majority women-owned, gave the partnership some actual substance beyond the marketing angle.

As for the juice itself? It's a rebottled version of Heritage's award-winning 94-proof Elk Rider Gin. We're not sure if the distillery had made some tweaks to the original recipe to make the flavor of the 5Gin more distinctive, but comparing the review of the Elk Rider with the 5Gin — from the "traditional-style" flavor (i.e., dry) and forwardness of the citrus and botanical elements — matched the consensus on 5Gin to a tee. Whatever the case, the drink, while not high-end, wasn't bottom-of-the-barrel dregs, either. Quite nice for a promo drink!

To journalists and influencers, the company sent the bottle in a complete mixology kit that has tonic water, a bottle of fresh lime juice, aromatic bitters (we couldn't tell the exact type, but it's called "High Capacity Bitters" and tinted the company's purplish color), and a mixing glass. To the side, beside a leaflet that introduces the kit, you get three recipe cards that teach you how to assemble a gin fizz ("Fastest 5Gin Fizz"), a martini ("Magenta Martini"), and a Gimlet ("5Gimlet") with the box's content. It's thoughtful, practical, and even fun for those who received the kit, but as far as we're aware, these kits weren't retailed.

Not a big fan of liquor? Outside of 5Gin, T-Mobile also launched the "Extended Range 5Ginger Beer," produced in concert with Jones Soda Co. A six-pack of these could be bought for $10, and from the reviews by those who had the opportunity to taste them, they actually tasted quite good, smelling and tasting of real ginger instead of cloyingly sweet and chock-full of artificial flavoring. You could certainly drink it solo, but together with the 5Gin, we imagine it'd be an awesome flavor base for a T-Mobile-style cranberry gin mule cocktail.

Great as they were, both 5Gin and 5Ginger Beer had an extremely limited run. Even the website that you could've used to order yourself one of these is now defunct (http://t-mobile5gin.com/). The rare bottles of 5Gin that're still around are sold at sky-high prices on the secondary market ($199.99 from one source), so unless you really want to own a piece of telecom history, this episode is best kept as a fun story of that one time a cellphone company switched to selling hard liquors.