Belle Takes A Gin Journey Around London
If you’ve been hearing the word gin more and more recently and wondered why, there is a good reason behind it. The gin craze is real.
Figures announced by YouGov showed that 2017 was a year that saw gin climb to the top and become the most popular spirit in the UK. Consumers bought over 47 million bottles in the 12 months to September 2017, up from 40 million bottles compared to the same period the previous year – the equivalent of 1.32 billion G&Ts. Gin has grown more than any other spirit sold in the UK.
And the Wine and Spirit Trade Association says the gin boom – sales of which have surged 12%, the fastest growth rate of any spirit drink according to the latest WSTA Market Report – has helped spirits overtake beer in an historic industry first.
No wonder that with all this gin talk, my juniper-loving companion and I found ourselves on a Gin Journey around Notting Hill. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, one I frankly would rather have spent curled up on a sofa with a blanket. Luckily, the first meeting point of the tour happened to be walking distance from our home – The Italian Job, just off Portobello Road, which made the transition from one cosy room to another much easier.
We arrived and sat down at an empty table next to a group of people that all seemed to have been waiting for something. “They look like a gin crew”, I said to my partner. At which point one of them overheard us and nodded. We all sat and patiently waited for someone to come and find us.
Shortly “Mike ‘The Gin’ Mann” arrived and gathered us in a pretty room upstairs. After a welcome and a small introduction and an overview of the day, Mike kicked off our journey to the land of gin. I was eager to take as many notes as possible, but Mike’s knowledge, facts and stories were endless, and with the sampling of gins in between, I must admit I didn’t have as much success as I hoped for. But who can blame me?!
One piece of gin knowledge that Mike shared was about the famous phrase “Dutch courage”. The story originates sometime during the 17th century, when the Dutch and English fought in a battle. The Dutch soldiers were given a two small bottles of alcohol every morning to drink before they took of the battlefield. This was supposed to give them the courage to fight and this is where “Dutch courage” saying is believed to originate.
At the Italian Job, first we tried the Malfy Gin. It came in a pretty bottle distilled in Turin Italy, in a distillery that has existed since 1906. As well as Juniper berries, it is made with lemons, citrus peal and other botanicals.
After sampling the Malfy Gin (neat in its natural form and also in a cocktail), we moved to a space downstairs and had the option to order some food, which was a rather excellent idea!
We then sampled another gin, this time, the Portobello Road gin. Again, it came ‘straight up’ as well as in a form of a cocktail. This time, it was a glass of historic punch which originated from the 16th century.
We took our cups and boarded a chauffeur driven mini-bus aka the ‘fun bus’, which waited outside to take us further onto our journey.
Our next stop was the 108 Bar in The Marylebone Hotel – Gin Journey’s brand new 2018 addition. There we sampled Marylebone Gin, which is distilled right on the premises by The Pleasure Gardens Distilling Company, whose history dates back to 1762.
I was just beginning to feel cosy in the beautiful hotel surroundings, enjoying my delicious cocktail and soaking in the buzzy vibes, but it was time to hop on our party bus and head to the next destination.
Just a short ride away we found ourselves at Old Mary’s – a speak-easy bar below the Young’s Pub near Lancaster Gate. More drink and history followed. We enjoyed a modern classic cocktail called a Bramble, made with Martin Miller’s gin.
This tipple, as I learned, was the first one to have a cucumber added to it and it’s currently the most awarded gin in the world.
Our last stop (and I don’t want to read too much into the name and why this might have been chosen as the final destination given the amounts of gin we had), was a lively tiki bar Trailer Happiness on Portobello Road. Here we finished with a scrumptious cocktail prepared with Citadelle Gin.
We were left to our own devices, but not before Mike announced the winner of the ‘Instagram post of the day’ competition. I am proud to say that my drinking partner won the prize with his perfectly flowing poem, pretty much summarising the Gin Journey experience. Drumroll please.
“It’s a well distilled win on this journey of gin with a comfortable spin and a mischievous grin. With some warmth from within and a slight twist of sin…let the adventure begin!”
We stayed for a few more drinks, enjoyed the music and a little dance, before sloe-ly embarking on our own version of gin journey back home.
- The award-winning Gin Journey takes place in London (Notting Hill, Bermondsey and Shoreditch), as well as in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle. In London, the Gin Journey starts at 2pm and ends at 6.30pm on Saturdays, and starts at 6.30pm and ends at 11pm on weekdays. Food is not included.
- For more information and bookings visit http://www.ginjourney.com/
