Welcome to our latest Gin News Update! As ever, there’s been plenty of top Gin News action since our last roundup, so let’s get cracking with the latest stories…
- New Launches From Big Hitters
It must be nearly summer – peak G&T drinking time – as some of the major players are launching new editions hoping for a blockbuster hit. Bombay Sapphire are going for the patriotic market, with their new limited edition flag-wavingly titled Bombay Sapphire English Estate, which uses the standard BS as a base with the added botanicals Pennyroyal mint, rosehip and toasted hazelnut – regional ingredients ‘gathered from the great English countryside’ designed to ‘create the ultimate summer refreshment’. It’s enough to bring a tear to Nigel Farage’s eye.
Meanwhile, up in Scotland at Hendrick’s they’ve come up with another new limited edition: Hendrick’s Midsummer Solstice, which is flavoured with ‘natural floral essences in celebration of the Eternal Mysteries of the Midsummer Solstice’ with the aim of capturing ‘the natural intensity of a midsummer’s day’, it says here.
Both new gins are out now, with the Bombay Sapphire priced around £23 and the Hendrick’s around £37.
- Waitrose Introduces New Gin Tasting Service
For those looking to learn more about gin but without having to rub shoulders with the hoi polloi, posh supermarket Waitrose have come up with the perfect solution. For just £400, a ‘Waitrose gin specialist’ will come to your home or place of business and conduct a private gin tasting for 6-10 people. The snappily-titled ‘Waitrose Wine Tasting at Home Gin O’ Clock Experience’ will consist of a two-hour tasting of five Waitrose-stocked gins with a chat on the history of the spirit and instructions on how to make a G&T…
- M&S Blessed By Fleabag
Not to be outdone, however, Waitrose’s upmarket rivals Marks and Spencer have been celebrating an unexpected 24% surge in sales of their premixed G&T cans after an unlikely celebrity endorsement from hit BBC sitcom Fleabag. The show’s ‘hot vicar’ Andrew Scott – better known for his scenery-chomping turn as Moriarty in Auntie’s Sherlock reboot – revealed a penchant for the drinks in Episode 2 of the new season of the hipsters’ favourite show on March 11th, sparking the sales rush.
- Still Explodes At Mason’s
Sadly, it’s not all been good news this month. A fire broke out last week at Mason’s Distillery in Bedale, Yorkshire after a still exploded early in the morning on Tuesday 2nd April. Six fire crews attended the scene, which engulfed the distillery building. Thankfully no-one was injured in the blaze.
Our best wishes to everyone at Mason’s – we hope they come back stronger than ever.
- And Finally…
We had to double-check this one but it’s definitely not a late April Fools’ Day windup: Arctic Brands are offering a lifetime supply of their Arctic Blue Gin to anyone desperate enough to go to the North Pole to secure it. Yes, if you can make it to the top of the world on April 17th, you’ll meet brand co-founder Mikko Spoof (seriously) at his one-day-only pop-up bar, and can claim your lifetime’s supply of the Finnish gin, which won a Double Gold Medal and Best in Show at San Francisco’s World Spirit Awards, it says here. Truth really is stranger than fiction…