Impact
Once the juniper lot was confirmed as the source on 15 August 2022, the blast radius could be defined. Four batches produced between 11 July and 8 August were affected across three products: Seekers Mekong Gold Gin, Seekers Mekong Dry Gin, and Jason Kong Butterfly Pea Gin. In total, 715 bottles were quarantined.
By the time the issue was confirmed, affected stock had already been distributed to on-trade and off-trade accounts. At that point, customer exposure could not be prevented, only reduced through recovery. Collection was prioritised by account volume, with the highest-volume accounts contacted first. Approximately 70% of affected stock was recovered. The remaining 30% was likely consumed before collection. No stock had shipped internationally, so the contamination was contained within the Cambodian market.
Response
Recovery began immediately once the source lot was confirmed. The supplier was notified, and all remaining stock from lot PDI-JNP-220620 was removed from production storage.
A replacement juniper lot from the same supplier was already in stock, but it was not used immediately. Before release, I validated it through single botanical distillation against the documented house baseline using the same method that identified the issue. The profile was clean and consistent with expectation, so the lot was approved and production resumed the same day.
The first gin batch produced with the replacement juniper lot passed QC and matched house standard.