gin experience

22-24 BRIDE LANE, LONDON EC4Y 8DT 
0207 936 3636

Fact: did you know the gin is vodka with juniper berries infused into it!!??

Neither did we, I didn't know what to expect when my friend Sarah suggested trying out the Gin Experience she found on Wowcher, but I'm always up for trying something new.....

The city distillery is tucked away just round the corner from Blackfriars underground station, as you enter, you step down into an underground bar, which is perfectly dark and expertly styled to feel as if you have just stepped into 1920's prohibition America, with jazz music and vintage make & mend type furniture, we were instantly taken back in time and I felt I walked onto the set of The Great Gatsby.....

Our host was a very friendly, enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable connoisseur of gin. He started us off with the house gin and tonic, with a huge slice of grapefruit, delicious indeed! This is the gin they actually make on site, he then gave us an in depth talk about what gin was and how it can be flavoured with a manner of different botanicals or spices... Who would have known...

Next up was the gin tasting.... Apprehensive, as the last time I had a neat shot of 47% ABV was...... never!!! Anyway our guide taught us how, if you keep the first swig of gin in your mouth for around 30 seconds, this then numbs the alcohol receptors in your mouth and on the second tasting then allows you to taste all the flavours within the gin... Sceptical to say the least, however it worked, and away we went trying a selection of different gins - one was fennel & citrus and the second vanilla, and finally cinnamon & coriander.

We finished the evening off with another gin based cocktail, Sarah had an army & navy, complete with plastic toy soldier and I had the original Hendricks and tonic (cucumber flavoured gin) and of course a gimlet shot on the side (lime and sugar infused gin shot, served ice cold, superb!)

All ginned out we headed home with fuzzy gin heads, feeling as if we really had learnt something and much more confident when ordering our next g&t and not just sticking to Bombay sapphire....

I would thoroughly recommend trying this place out (especially as on the 4th Monday of the month, they allow you to try 4 different gin's for free (no need for wowcher) and I forgot to mention they serve up a small tasting board of brie, cheddar and salami with crustini and a delicious juniper chutney, how apt!!