After a very successful virtual World Gin Day (day or weekend, or even month?! There is still more to come, check out my June virtual gin event post), we are moving on to what feels like year 4,000 of lockdown. So how can we keep amused in July 2020? Well as the pubs potentially opening from 4th July, there are still plenty of virtual events, including online cocktail masterclasses and gin tastings. See what’s happening online in July:
*Full disclosure – some of these events I have been invited to, have been gifted or I have previously worked with the brands. I will disclose these upfront for each event*
Online cocktail masterclasses & gin tastings in July 2020
Catch up on the online Ginposium sessions – any time on demand!
This year the Ginposium has gone totally digital. Usually it’s an event for people in the gin industry and this year they have opened it up for everyone to take part for free.
East London Liquor Company Virtual Tasting 1st July 8:30pm [gifted]
Kicking of July in style, Sipping Rooms from Boutique Bar Brands is presenting the London Dry Gin from East London Liquor Company (ELLC). Based in Hackney, East London Liquor Company make a range of spirits and have a fantastic distillery, bar and shop at Bow Wharf near Victoria Park. I first visited East London Liquor Co as part of the Gin Journey in December 2014.
From the outset ELLC’s focus has been to bring independent distilling back to the heart of London and their phenomenal success over the past few years has certainly achieved that. I particularly enjoy their more herbaceous Batch no. 2 gin, which is a contemporary style of gin and works amazingly in a negroni.
However their flagship London Dry Gin is intended to have a more traditional profile, ensuring it was accessible for consumers and was conceived specifically to compete with more established mass market brands as a “house pour” in bars despite all the products being distilled on their 450L stills. We look forward to uncovering how they have been able to compete so successfully against their much larger competition at the tasting on 1st July.
The ELLC London Dry gin
NEW! Gin and other spirits ready to drink in a tin
You can either join for free like other Sipping Room events, or you can order a bottle of the London Dry Gin alongside your ticket and they will even throw in 2 of their new ready to drink gin cans!
Book by Monday 29th June to ensure that you receive your bottle of gin in time for the tasting.
Atlas Bar virtual home gin tasting of local Manchester gins – 2nd July 7pm
Atlas Bar will be reopening from the 4th July, with their great outside space available (watch their social media for details). However before then you can try their favourite local Manchester gins and taste along from your home.
Their tasting boxes include 4 double gins, four premium Double Dutch mixers and some botanicals and information about the gins in your pack. The featured gin brands are: Divine, Defiance, Hunters and Cuckoo.
Buy the Atlas Bar Local Favourites box for £25 to join in.
The Gin to My Tonic Gindependence Day Home Festival Box including Virtual Masterclass – 4th July 6 – 8pm [prior partnership]
Join us for GIN-dependence Day on Saturday 4th July (6pm-8pm), a newly named holiday by The Gin To My Tonic and another great reason to celebrate gin! We will once again be hosting four fabulous craft distilleries virtually,
who will be opening their doors LIVE in order to share their gin-filled world! Each is a true embodiment of the word craft, with each adopting their own unique approach to gin making. In support of this exciting event, we are thrilled to announce that we have launched a special edition GIN-dependence Day Home Festival Box, available to pre-order now!
What’s Included?
- 50ml measure of PIN GIN Valencian Orange – Wonderfully vibrant and sweet orange, with juniper alongside freshly squeezed orange juice, a floral undertone and a refreshing grassy finish.
- 50ml measure of Mackintosh Grapefruit & Pineapple Old Tom – Newly launched and distilled with fresh pineapple and grapefruit it is a perfect cocktail gin, delicious over ice with lemonade.
- 50ml measure of Whitby Distillery Bramble & Bay – A burst of jammy, slightly tart berry, with creamy vanilla and balancing notes of savoury bay, with peppery juniper.
- 50ml measure of Albino Flamingo London Dry– Distilled with pink peppercorns, pink grapefruit, pink lady apples and various other botanicals create a superb London Dry.
- X 4 perfectly paired 200ml Fever-Tree Mixers (or Fever-Tree Lemonade optional), chosen to complement and enhance your gin drinking experience
- A 1-page write up on each distillery, which will be shared electronically.
- The opportunity to join the virtual celebrations on Saturday 4th July between 6pm – 8pm. Instructions on how to join and a URL link will be shared with you by e-mail in advance of the virtual event.
Order your Gindependence Day box for £25 here.
Campfire Cocktails Negroni Online Tasting – 10th July 7:30pm
Friday 10 July is negroni night! By popular request our next Campfire Cocktails online tasting explores the negroni cocktail. We like simple classic cocktails and you can’t go wrong with a negroni. Just three ingredients and equal measures makes it a perfect make-at-home cocktail however on this night you don’t even need to do that.
We will deliver to your door three different pre-mixed negroni cocktails, all made with different Campfire Gins, and with a one hour tutored tasting via Zoom you will learn about the history of the negroni and why Kate prefers our ‘sensible’ negroni recipe. Typically ruby red in colour you might be surprised by the colour of one of the recipes we will be featuring.
Unfortunately this event is now Sold Out for the 10th – however keep your eyes peeled for future Campfire Cocktail events – they’ve done martinis in the past too (after winning the World’s Best Martini!)
South East Asian Cocktail experience with Tarsier gin – 11th July 7pm [prior partnership]
BOOKINGS NOW OPEN FOR THE ULTIMATE SOUTHEAST ASIAN ADVENTURE.
Just because most of us are stuck at home, that doesn’t mean that we can’t travel. Join us at 7pm on Saturday 11th July for a specially curated tour around Southeast Asia where we will re-trace our backpacking adventure and take you on a journey featuring the sights, smells and taste of the region.
We are offering either a full gin & cocktail virtual tasting experience or just the cocktail experience. Places are limited and you need to buy a tasting pack to take part so don’t miss out.
Full Gin & Cocktail Tasting Experience: 2 x Double G&T’s & 3 x Cocktails for £27.99
Cocktail Tasting Experience: 3 x Cocktails for £18.99
The Wee Farm gin tasting hosted by Jaro Design – 11th July 8pm [prior partnership]
Janet and Lynzi from Jaro Design will take you through a great tasting event (they invited me along to their Lanarkshire Big 5 gin tastings to check the events out). This event is focusing on three gins from The Wee Farm distillery.
Included in your tasting box are three samples from Wee Farm gin – a starter, main and dessert if you will! Alongside suggested pairings of Prosecco and Fevertree mixers. Jenny from The Wee Farm will be leading you through the gins and telling you all about her products. These are quality gins, so well worth it!
Order your Wee Farm gin tasting box for £25 from Jaro Design.
Warner’s Virtual Gin Tasting & Tour Experience – 24th July 6:30pm [prior partnership]
I was invited to attend the first Warner’s Farm and Distillery tour and tasting on World Gin Day and I was impressed with the effort that went into it. The whole team were behind the scenes in getting smooth transitions between various locations on the farm and there was loads of information packed into the tour, alongside Tom’s usual enthusiasm.
The first tasting was Warner’s Harrington Dry gin
The full selection you’ll receive
In addition we got to try 5 of their core range of gins, sent with mixers for that perfect pairing. Included in the tour and tasting pack is 5 x 50ml samples, 3 FeverTree mixers, seeds for planting (wildflower for the bees and lemon balm for garnishes). At £40 per box it’s not the cheapest option, but you do get good value – one box will do 2 people for tasters easily.
Spirit of Perthshire 70′ Disco Gin Tasting – 24th July 7 – 9pm
Join the 70’s party at this intimate Friday night event run by Ewan McIlwraith and Sandy Fraser, the co-organisers of the Self Isolation Whisky Festival. Get involved in your best 70’s outfits! Tickets are priced at £29.50 (numbers limited to 50) inclusive of UK postage and packing (EU and other destinations charged at current rates). Tickets will go on sale on Saturday 27th June and will be dispatched no later than Friday 17th July to ensure that all of the participants have their masterclass kits ahead of the event.
You ticket includes:
- Six expressions
- Flight mats
- Discount vouchers/code for purchases of products featured at the event
Buy your tickets from Robertsons of Pitlochry
Spirit of Perthshire Fully Interactive Gin Festival – 25th July throughout the day starting at 11am
The Saturday event will take a more traditional approach showcasing the premier expressions and “Perfect Serves” from some of the most exciting and up and coming gin distillers of the moment: Elephant Gin, Cambridge Distillery, Badachro, Fox Gin, Hepple Gin, Crossbill Gin, Redcastle Gin and The Boatyard Distillery during their hosting of expert led masterclasses. Tickets are priced at £22.50 inclusive of UK postage and packing (EU and other destinations charged at current rates).
The Saturday ticket includes:
- Masterclass tasting flight (for one masterclass)
- Masterclass flight mat
- Recipe for “The Perfect Serve”
- Discount vouchers/code for purchases of products featured at the event
- Access to view all online masterclasses
Buy your tickets from Robertsons of Pitlochry
The Gin to My Tonic Pink Gin Box including Virtual Masterclass – 25th July 6 – 8pm [prior partnership]
For the pink gin-lovers among you, there is a second virtual event taking place on Saturday 25th July (6pm-8pm) and, this time, we’ll be delving into the wonderful world of pink gin with Mirabeau, Gin 1689, Three Wrens and Pink Marmalade:
Inside the box, you will receive:
- 50ml measure of Mirabeau Rosé Gin
- 50ml measure of Gin 1689 Queen Mary Pink Gin
- 50ml measure of Three Wrens Raspberry Modena Cask Finish Gin
- 50ml measure of Pink Marmalade Gin
- 4 x perfectly paired 200ml Fever-Tree Mixers (or Fever-Tree Lemonade optional), chosen to complement and enhance your gin drinking experience
- A 1-page write up on each distillery, which will be shared electronically.
- The opportunity to join the virtual celebrations on Saturday 25th July between 6pm – 8pm. Instructions on how to join and a URL link will be shared with you by e-mail in advance of the virtual event.
Buy the Home Festival Box for this event, which is available to pre-order for £25 now!
Are there any events that you know about that I am missing? Let me know in the comments below!
kavitafavelle says
These tastings are such a good way of a) carrying on tasting activities during the pandemic and b) really good for those of us who live outside of the big cities and can’t get to in-person venues easily!
Katie says
Yes they’ve been a great way for me to see my friends up in Scotland for example.