Now in its sixth year, World Gin Day is a global celebration of all things gin, taking place on the second Saturday in June.
It’s official – we love gin. The “Ginaissance” shows no sign of halting and with summer coming, we predict plenty of thirst-quenching G&Ts ahead. It’s been a stand out addition to our wedding menu, with guests eager to sample our range of gin and tonics.
World Gin Day is the brainchild of gin blogger Emma Stokes, who wanted to bring her love of gin to the masses. She has even crafted her very own gin in celebration of this momentous day, blending together botanicals from all seven continents! With this much delicious gin doing the rounds, it’s not surprising that a few parties have sprung up. Past events have included a gin and jazz party in London, a juniper festival in Edinburgh, a garden party in Bath and all-day gin party in Bristol. You can choose to celebrate at home with a glass of your favourite tipple or venture out to one of the exciting events happening all over the world.
Our favourite gins
As with everything we serve up, we love seeking out local artisanal suppliers of gin. We turn to The Cotswolds Distillery for a range of spirits; they’ve been using traditional methods to produce their signature spirits in Shipston-on-Stour since 2014. Their Cotswolds Dry gin is a particularly impressive blend of nine carefully considered botanicals: juniper, coriander seed, angelica root, local Cotswolds lavender, bay leaf, hand-peeled fresh lime and pink grapefruit zest, cardamom and black peppercorn. We think it makes the perfect gin and tonic, as well as being a welcoming base for our potent gin cocktails.
We’re also huge fans of Toad Oxford dry gin, distilled in the shadow of the dreaming spires in central Oxford. Bearing the emblem of the very relatable Toad of Toad Hall, The Oxford Artisan Distillery (TOAD)is the only distillery in the world using ancient populations of heritage grain to create spirits. All of their grains are grown organically within a 50-mile radius of their distillery, and while their recipes are traditional, their growing methods are on the cutting edge of eco-agriculture.