My grandmother, Sheila Agnes Johnson, was the classiest, most naturally elegant woman I’ve ever known. I remember laying on her bed watching her get dressed for church on the Sundays we’d visit her. I remember her pearls, her skirts, and the smell of her Chanel #5. She’d listen to smooth jazz on the car radio, Tampa Bay’s WSJT 94.1. She was joyful, sociable, and quick witted. She’d throw her head back when she laughed and she’d hit you on the arm. She was fun and charming. And she was known by anyone who visited her for the beautiful rose bushes she tended to in the front of her house.

When I think of gin, I think of natural elegance and sophistication. I think of a dry martini with a lemon twist, so effortlessly classy like my grandmother, SAJ. I think of dressing up for a night on the town in a dress, a hat, and some pearls. And I think of settling in at a bar for the night to socialize with good friends and listen to jazz.

This gin is a representation of the love I have for promoting luxury, leisure and genuine enjoyment of life. It’s a dedication to the way I hold myself and the woman I aspire to be and with its namesake it’s a raised glass to the woman I’ve looked up to all my life.