Because of their affinity, gin and tea are natural botanical bedfellows, adding complexity to one another when used in concert. In the early 2000s, Desmond Payne, Master Distiller (now emeritus) at Beefeater Gin, created Beefeater 24, which included Sencha and Chinese green teas as key differentiators in the botanical list. Since then, thanks in great part to the cocktail renaissance, multiple companies have incorporated teas into their gins, producing spirits whose profiles can gently or aggressively reflect the types of tea they employ.