Trust us, we don’t need any excuse to drink gin but for anyone who does, there’s World Gin Day. Oh yes! That’s a whole 24-hours dedicated to the juniper spirit – from tastings in shops, parties at home and discounted cocktails in bars.
Created by Neil Houston of Yet Another Gin and now in the very capable hands of the aptly named Gin Monkey, Emma Stokes, this is the fifth World Gin Day and boy, have they pulled out all the stops. There are goodies up for grabs (gin-shaped of course) and all manner of fun and fabulous events to enjoy on th day.
Such as Gin Journeys with London Bar Consultants, taking in a visit to the City of London Distillery and a tour of five top London bars (including gin tastings and a tasty gin cocktail in each); a rooftop party at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast; gin cocktails and cucumber sandwiches at the Gin Palace in Dublin; a special cocktail menu and live jazz at The Gin Joint in Athens, and a walk through three centuries of gin history in the Gin Lanes of Clerkenwell tour.
The big one is Ginstock, a day-long event where ten of the biggest gin brands partner up with ten great bars (Tanqueray with Worship Street Whistling Shop; Bombay Sapphire with London Cocktail Club; Martin Miller’s with Powder Keg Diplomacy; Beefeater with Perkin Reveller; Plymouth with NOLA; Boodles with The Gilbert Scott; Opihr with Dishoom; Sipsmith with Megaro; Warner Edwards with The Liquorists and Williams with Milk & Honey) to create a winning cocktail, as voted for by everyone in attendance on the day. Tickets cost £36 and include tastings of all the cocktails and a beer.
Bad news though, it looks like Ginstock is sold out but the good news is, gin is available everywhere! Hurrah!
Make it your mission to buy a bottle – whether it’s blue, cucumber tinged, infused with herbs or plain old London Dry – and raise your glass to World Gin Day. Cheers!
For all events, details and competitions, see World Gin Day and follow the fun on Facebook.
