With the exception of getting the mumps (yes, really!) November was another fun, and very busy, month with plenty of distillery visits, lots of gin and a fair bit of research and writing. Read on to find out more about what I’ve been up to.
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Sometimes the summer holidays really drag but this year’s have flown by! Suddenly it’s September and the kids are starting to go back to school, so now I have time to sit down and catch up with my (mostly Scottish-based) August adventures!
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Well, I may not have gone to Copenhagen or Cornwall as planned but, what with homeschooling, the rise and rise of virtual gin tastings and – of course – #GinADayMay, it’s still been an incredibly busy month!
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Perhaps better known as a craft beer subscription service, Flavourly.com have recently added a Gin Discovery box to their line-up and it looks pretty tempting indeed. Unlike all of their competitors, Flavourly offer their subscribers three 200ml bottles of craft gin in addition to mixers and snacks.
2016 has earned itself a pretty damning reputation and, largely, with good reason. But, politics and celebrity deaths aside, it hasn’t been all bad. And for gin it’s been pretty bloody good! Approximately 50 new distilleries opened last year, contributing to a total production of 528 million litres of gin and resulting in sales of over £1billion for the first time. The rise and rise of small-batch craft gin was the theme of the year, but the big story came right at the end, when the founders of the craft gin renaissance, Sipsmith, were sold to Beam Suntory, the world’s third-largest spirits company (and owner of Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Teacher’s and Courvoisier), for a reported £50million. Other significant deals included the sale of Spencerfield Spirit Company, producers of Edinburgh Gin, to Ian Macleod Distillers, and Liverpool Gin to Halewood International, the makers of Lambrini.
There’s always a must-have toy at Christmas that everyone is desperate to get their mitts on. This year, however, that item is a toy for adults, not children, and comes in the shape of a simple Christmas bauble. A bauble … filled with gin!
Remember Mabel? The marvellous 100-year-old we all took to our hearts when we read how she swore the secret to long life was drinking six gin-and-tonics a day. She declared: “I have two at lunchtime, one at tea-time with a biscuit, and then three more during the evening while I do my knitting. I swear the gin keeps me young!” She even calculated that, as it took her a week to get through a bottle, she had consumed 4,264 bottles since she started drinking! I am the bearer of bad news. I am mourning Mabel. Mabel is no more. For she never was.
Gin A Ding Ding 