Get ready to discover The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, a state-of-the-art distillery in the heart of the city.

If you fancy trying your hand at making your own gin, they run Gin Blending Masterclasses in Stourton and Broadway where you can choose from different botanical and fruit flavours to create your own special blend, with expert advice on how to turn it into the perfect Martini. We run tours every day at 11am, 1pm and 3pm but these frequently sell out in advance so be sure to book ahead, either online or by phoning the distillery on 01608 238 533, to avoid disappointment. Then the real fun begins… Before blending your gin, you will nose and taste a variety of botanicals and distillates, ranging from fruity to spicy botanicals. You can mix the distillates as you wish, so you can be sure the final product will be your very own, personalised gin! Once you’ve mastered your recipe, your host will use their expert knowledge to help you create a unique perfect serve which you can sip on afterwards.

Drawing inspiration from their surroundings, the Cotswolds Distillery is committed to supporting and celebrating the Cotswolds AONB. They use locally grown barley to make their whisky and they believe in the importance of traditional craftmanship. Despite the typical botanicals used in gin-making not being native to the UK (e.g., juniper), Cotswolds Distillery still strive to support and celebrate their surroundings by using locally grown lavender in their Dry Gin. They also produce a Wildflower gin range as well as a Hedgerow Gin using locally grown botanicals and fruit. From start to-finish, everything is controlled by hand and timed to perfection to ensure that the spirits produced are of the highest quality and flavour. Next up in our Smithery Sessions series, we are partnering with Callibgraphy to bring you a festive calligraphy workshop to add that extra personal touch to your Christmas cards this year. Escaping to a holiday cottage for New Year is the perfect way to celebrate and welcome in the new year in style. Sibling’s Original Gin has notes of citrus, vanilla and blueberry, and they also make a range of seasonal gins, including a winter warmer infused with festive cranberries and clementines. Or serve their Negroni Gin with tonic for a bitter, Italian-style aperitivo. Buy online* Tasting at Sibling Gin Distillery 3. Racing Gin

Nestled amongst the rolling hills of the Cotswolds countryside, the Cotswolds Distillery was born from a dream to produce Outstanding Natural Spirits in one of the most beautiful regions in the world. The distillery opened its doors in 2014 and is the first full-scale distillery within the Cotswolds – a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. From their single malt whiskies to gins and liqueurs, everything they make is about quality and flavour above all else. Your whisky will be bottled up for you to take home with you, as well as two 20cl bottles of our Single Malt Whisky, so that you can enjoy a dram with family and friends when you get home. This unique masterclass promises an unforgettable experience where every sip is a taste of Christmas magic! Discover the secrets of Covent Garden where the journey begins, and let the festive spirit infuse every moment. Learn the art of crafting and throwing the perfect martini, guided by our expert mixologists but also how the history of gin came to be (with the help of Sipsmith, of course!)Sipped with water added, you’ll find that some of the spice notes come out a bit more. More pepper, More cardamom, more coriander, and especially on the finish, a lot more bay leaf. The juniper and angelica become a bit more vegetal, with hints of celery and herbes de provence, with angelica’s distinctive musk note becoming much, much louder. Did you know that Conker is Dorset’s first gin distillery, founded in 2014? They use craftsmanship and the best possible ethical ingredients to distill the excitement and integrity of small batch spirits into the glass - and they did that very thing when creating our spectacular September 2017 Gin of the Month . Concoct a recipe that really captures your personal flair, then watch in awe as your artisanal creation comes to life through the distillation process. In this fabulous experience, you can join the Salcombe Distilling Co. team at their waterside Distillery Bar overlooking Salcombe Estuary in Devon to uncover the art of distillation.

You’ll be greeted with a ginny tipple in hand, be taken through the chequered history of gin and learn how Sipsmith came to be. Our three copper ladies, Prudence, Verity and Constance will then take centre stage and you will learn how our award winning spirits are carefully hand-crafted. Naturally, there will be a tutored gin tasting too. The aroma is lucid. Grapefruit oils, a hint of lime, a lavender tinged floral musk, and a hearty and intensely true to fresh ground juniper berries touch of juniper. Lovely and vibrant, it’s a nose that certainly stands in memory. After starting out making moonshine in the New Zealand bush, Boutique Distillery relocated to Gloucestershire and began crafting their artisan gins. This eco-friendly distillery is the only one in the country that’s built its own copper still – known as ‘Ginavive’– from scratch using upcycled materials, and uses 100% renewable energy and condensers which reduce water usage. Their Garden Swift Gin (formerly known as Garden Tiger) uses 34 carefully selected botanicals, including Sicilian blood orange and flowers from the lime tree. And there’s also the Hart and Dart gin, which is aged in a mulberry wood barrel to add sweetness and spice. Buy online* Garden Swift Gin 6. Douglas Fir Gin It wasn’t that long ago, that a gin that made a cloudy gin and tonic, was considered faulty. This effect is referred to by Absinthe drinkers as a Louche or more generally as the Ouzo effect. When a spirit contains a large amount of hydrophobic essential oils— commonly found in botanicals such as anise— normally soluble in ethanol begin to come out of solution as water is added. As you drip water into Absinthe, Ouzo or gins like Cotswolds Dry Gin, cloudiness begins to appear.

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