Gin Lane 1751

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With recent reports claiming that us Brits are currently spending £1million a day on gin, and drinking 19million litres of mothers’ ruin annually, there is little escaping that we seem to be in the midst of a new gin craze. The original Gin Craze took place in the first half of the 18th century when gin consumption hit record levels, particularly in London, where it was estimated that one in every four properties housed some sort of distilling equipment. The Government was forced to introduce eight Gin Acts between 1729 and 1751 before the Gin Craze was brought under control, although not without rioting in the streets of London and a mock funeral for the spirit’s personification, Madame Genever! Then, as a consequence of new distilling methods, and the arrival of gin palaces on our streets, there was a gin resurgence during the Victorian era.  Launched in 2015, during this most recent gin renaissance, Gin Lane 1751 brings together all these moments in the history of gin.

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Old Bakery Gin

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I love craft gin. It goes without saying that I love drinking it but I also love hearing the stories behind it. The tales about why people embarked on small batch distilling and how they selected their botanicals. Many craft gins are born of love of the spirit, such as Esker Gin and Rock Rose Gin, or, less often, of each other, such as with Manchester Gin! Some, like Pothecary and Sipsmith, are tales of perseverance and determination. Lots of new gins look to the future, searching out increasingly unusual botanicals, in their efforts to be modern and unique but far fewer look to the past. One of those is Half Hitch inspired by the lost gin history of Camden and now another to add to that list is Old Bakery Gin.

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Esker Gin

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Scotland is, famously, saturated with both gin and castles. And now the Queen, resident of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and well-known to enjoy a daily Dubonnet and Gin before lunch, has a new local tipple to try as Esker Gin launches in Royal Deeside. Indeed, one of Esker’s central botanicals hails from Balmoral’s neighbouring Kincardine Castle Estate.

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High Spirits at Gin Festival London

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Beer festivals have, seemingly, been around for ever with Oktoberfest, generally recognised as the world’s largest beer festival, originating way back in 1810.  Nowadays  there’s a festival to cater for all passions, from cheese to chicken wings, but as recently as 2012 there was no festival devoted to gin.  Gin lovers, and husband and wife, Jym and Marie Harris decided to change all that and Gin Festival was born.

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Dà Mhìle Orange 33 & Seaweed Gin

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It is fairly common for a new distillery to start making gin before moving onto whisky.  Gin, which can be sold as soon as it is made, offers a relatively quick financial return in comparison with whisky which (due to legal requirement) must be aged before it is commercially viable.  This helps to explain why approximately 70% of the gin produced in the UK is made in Scotland.  What is much less common is for a gin to have its origins in whisky production, but this is the case in the story of Welsh distillery Dà Mhìle.

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Rock Rose Gin Summer Edition

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On one of the northernmost tips of the British Isles, in Dunnet Bay, lies a distillery, and a gin, born of the earth.  Martin and Claire Murray opened Dunnet Bay Distillers in August 2014 with the goal of creating spirits which “reflect the Caithness way”.  It took over 55 experiments to perfect their gin recipe but they eventually settled upon a combination of local and traditional botanicals, which only they know, and Rock Rose Gin was born.

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6 O’Clock Gin

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Now, more than ever, people like to know the provenance of the food and drink they consume and you can’t argue with the provenance of 6 O’Clock Gin.  6 O’Clock Gin is produced by Bramley & Gage, a family-run business still going from strength to strength after 28 years.  Now a working distillery based outside Bristol, Bramley & Gage was cultivated on a fruit farm in South Devon in the mid-1980s.  The farm itself wasn’t doing particularly well so founders, Edward Bramley Kain and Penelope Gage, started experimenting with surplus fruit to make strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant liqueurs using a traditional french maceration method.  The liqueurs were a great success and it wasn’t long before a sloe gin was added to the range.

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Blackwater Navy Strength Strawberry Gin

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Now renowned for its salmon fishing and wonderful scenery, the Blackwater River in south-east Ireland was once at the heart of the Empire built on gin.  White’s of Waterford were, in the Victorian period, one of the largest importers of spices in the British Isles. Their vessels would return to Waterford from the far east with new teas, herbs and botanicals which would then be sent by steamer up the Blackwater River. They were landed at the pier in Cappoquin, barely a kilometre from today’s Blackwater Distillery.

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A Crafty Little Club for Gin Lovers

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With new craft distilleries opening every month, and existing distilleries increasing their portfolios, the number of gins on the market is growing exponentially.  But how does one keep up with so many new products?  How do you decide which one is good enough to invest in and which one isn’t worth your hard-earned pennies?  Sometimes when you’re spoilt for choice and short on time it’s just easier to let someone else do the hard work for you.  That’s where the Craft Gin Club comes in.

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Pothecary British Blended Gin

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Most of us have done it; criticised a product, declared we could do better and dreamed of making it big.  Few of us have the guts and wherewithal to give it a go, fewer still the talent to make it a success.  But two friends from Dorset have done just that and set the gin world alight.  In a true rags-to-riches tail, Lukasz Dwornik and Martin Jennings have, in little more than 18 months, gone from bemoaning the average gins on offer in their local pub to producing one of the most critically acclaimed British gins on the market.

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