Last weekend, I was very kindly invited to go to the Gin Festival‘s Glasgow event. I am quite the gin lover – I used to work for a gin brand, so I know far too much about juniper and column stills than what is normal. So I was really excited to go along and try lots of other gins that I hadn’t had the chance to before!
The event was held in the Briggait – which is a really lovely space. It’s so full of light – which was absolutely perfect for taking pictures!
The format of the event was that you are given a (rather large!) gin glass at the start and you go around to the various bars to try the different gins on offer. There was also plenty of Fevertree mixers to have with them too!
I started off with an Opihr gin with ginger ale, which was served with chilis as a garnish. I really enjoyed it – it was quite spicy, but the ginger ale made it a little bit sweeter. I would highly recommend it!
After sipping away on our first gin and tonics, we made our way over to a masterclass with Makar gin. It distills its gins right here in Glasgow and it was really interesting to hear about the botanicals that they use in the gin and also the history of the brand!
Afterwards, we had a cocktail made with Makar, apple juice, lemon and elderflower. It was so refreshing (and quite potent, I have to say…) and it’s definitely something that I’m going to try and replicate at home!
Max also really enjoyed the whole experience.. while also carrying out his ‘Instagram husband’ duties! (He will probably kill me for calling him that!).
For our 2nd gin and tonics we headed to the international gin bar to try something from further afield. Max went for a vanilla flavoured gin liqueur and I tried a pink-coloured strawberry flavoured gin. Both were so delicious. Max’s tasted like vanilla ice cream basically – only with gin!
The atmosphere of the event was so lovely – it felt like everyone was having so much fun. There was also some performers who played live music to keep everyone entertained!
All in all, the Gin Festival was such a lovely experience! If you are a gin lover like myself, I would highly recommend it. There are so many opportunities to try out different gins and also if you find some you really like, you can take home a bottle at the end!
The Gin Festival goes all over the UK – you can find out more from their website here. It is such a fun day out but you will probably end up rather tipsy by the end of it – I know that I was!
