Last month was so mega busy I’ve somehow got to mid-April without publishing my March Gin Monthly, so here it finally is – better late than never and all that!

Booze News

March was another mixed month for booze news. On the one hand, Burleighs is back, Turncoat Distillery has been saved from closure and Warner’s secured a huge £1.5 million investment; on the other, both York Gin and the British Honey Company sadly entered administration and Linlithgow Distillery was put up for sale after its owners decided to bow out.

New Gin Alerts

March saw the first of many Coronation Gins hit the headlines with Silent Pool announcing the release of a brand new recipe created from botanicals said to be favoured by King Charles III, including plums and Earl Grey tea. Other releases which caught my eye included Masons Fruits of the Tropics Gin, York Gin Rhubarb, Height of Arrows Funk – made with naturally fermented juniper – and Japanese-inspired Scottish-made Ùrar Gin. The end of the month also saw the relaunch of Swansea’s Cygnet Distillery with new gin Cygnet 22 and under the ownership of Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins.

My Month in Gin

March kicked off with the opening of Lucy Wong – an underground cocktail bar inspired by 1950s Hong Kong and Richard Mason’s novel ‘The World of Suzie Wong’ – where we were treated to live music, beautiful cocktails and some truly delicious Cantonese dishes. If you find yourself in Fitzrovia it’s definitely one worth checking out.

I was also delighted to visit The Coral Room at London’s beautiful Hotel Bloomsbury and enjoy a full tasting of their Great Irish Tour menu ahead of St. Patrick’s Day. Celebrating the legends, myths and poets of the Emerald Isle, the menu is wonderfully varied, and all the cocktails were exquisite, but two of my favourites were Dublin’s malty Finnegan – featuring spiced Guinness, liquorice and Irish whiskey – and Kerry’s King Puck – a rich and decadent drink created with fat washed rum. The service and bar snacks were also every bit as impressive as the stunning surroundings!

And for something completely different, I headed up to Cheshire for a mesmerising and mind-boggling tour of Encirc’s enormous Cheshire glass factory and filling facilities. It was also great to hear about all their efforts to be more streamlined and sustainable. If you want to know more keep an eye out for my IWSC article.

And amongst all that fun there was some hard work too (well sort of!), judging tonics and mixers for The Global Spirits Masters, old tom and sloe gins for The Gin Guide Awards, and London Dry Gin, gin and tonic and vodka for The IWSC!

Welcome to My Collection

So many goodies this month! Thank you to Bareksten for their book and miniatures, to Ùrar Gin, to Vault Aperitivo for their brilliant 150ml canned sample set, to Georgie & Henners for the perfectly timed delivery of Birthday Gin, to Edelwhite for their Fondue Gin and cheese, to Le Tribute for the gin and tonics, to Amarula Gin, to The Oxford Artisan Distillery for their Rye Whisky and to Franklin & Sons for their selection of mixers. And thank you to me for Audemus‘ Anne Sophie Pic Gin!

Catching Up and Looking Forward

With a trip stateside to judge for the American Distilling Institute International Spirits Competition April has been just as crazy as March was, and now it’s already time to start thinking about #GinADayMay too. Hit the link to check out this year’s prompts and I’ll see you all again soon! 🍸🛎🛎