Excellent news for us gin lovers – hot on the heels of World Gin Day, the Irish Gin & Tonic Fest 2017 comes to town and we are all invited to the closing party at Bootyard in Dalston hosted by Great Irish Beverages and A Drop of Irish on July 1st.
The Irish Gin & Tonic Fest is a celebration of the best gins produced in Ireland and hundreds of bars and restaurants from across the Republic and Northern Ireland celebrate the best G&Ts that Ireland has to offer between 25th June and 1st July. Lucky for us, the organisers, Great Irish Beverages, decided that this year they’d bring some of their lovely spirits and good cheer over to London and close the festival in style!
There will be gins representing every province in Ireland, and you will have a chance to meet the people behind the brands to find more about their story and how their gins are made:
- From Ulster: the lovely Boatyard Gin. Wild bog myrtle from the family farm in Fermanagh helps to characterise Boatyard Distillery’s gorgeous organic grain gin. It has been nicknamed a “double gin” for the two distillations they implement for each bottling.
- From Leinster: the delectable Bonac 24. The initial inspiration for this Wicklow gin actually came from time spent working in the Hamptons in NY, also known to the locals there as Bonac. Apparently, it took the Clifford family 24 times to get their gin formula right, hence the name Bonac 24.
- From Munster: the delicious Dingle Gin. Straight outta county Kerry, with a rich spirit that is beautifully infused with eastern European spices and local flowers. Brought to you by the folks of The Porterhouse Brewery.
- From Connaught: the outstanding Drumshanbo Gunpowder Gin. Made in the only distillery in Leitrim, it is named after the famous Chinese green tea, it also features Irish ingredients such as dried meadowsweet which makes it a rather global spirit.
A dedicated G&T bar will be serving up Gin and Tonics throughout the day, pairing the Irish gins on show with Poacher’s Tonic, a craft Irish brand currently making waves in the tonic market. Ireland’s only producer of premium, low sugar, natural mixers, Poacher’s citrus tonic water features Florida orange and Irish rosemary, while their classic tonic water is more quinine forward with just a tiny sprinkling of Irish thyme.
If you are worried about drinking all this gin on an empty stomach, fear not, renowned Irish Chef Simon Lamont, will be cooking up some of the finest BBQ. Host of TV show The Lazy Chef, which saw him take to the road to highlight some of Ireland’s best kept culinary secrets, Simon now splits his time between Ireland and London, cheffing and running creative pop-ups.
The party will be hosted at Bootyard in Dalston, home to 40FT Brewery and Cold & Blac coffee liqueur, doors open at midday and close at 10pm.
Wristbands are available to buy online through DesignMyNight for £10, or on the door for £15. This will give guests access to samples of all of the gins being showcased, along with one complimentary All Irish G&T, served with Poacher’s tonic water. Delicious 40FT beer will also be available from the Tap Room.
The Irish G&T Fest, now in its second year, is run by Great Irish Beverages Ltd, which also run the Irish Cocktail Fest, and it is headed up by Osin Davis.
The London event will be run by All About The Cocktail Ltd, a London based drinks consultancy and events company. AATC is run by Charlie McCarthy, also Editor of DrinkingTrends.com and Chief at A Drop of Irish, who will be providing expert staff to host guests on the day, including gin expert Gin Monkey.
Where: The Bootyard, 18a Ashwin St, London E8
When: 1 July 2017, 12pm – 10pm
London-Olios 