Junipalooza 2018 #worldginday
Lets go back to November 2017, when I saw through a Instagram post that tickets for Junipalooza were going on sale. No idea what I would be doing on the 9th of June I purchased a pair of tickets praying that I would be able to convince a friend to join me.
Fast forward 7 months and I felt like a 7 year old on Christmas eve.
Super excited to be attending, like eager beavers we got there super early, we didn't want to take any chances on securing tickets for the gin experiences.
Fast forward 7 months and I felt like a 7 year old on Christmas eve.
Warner Edwards- Junipalooza Gin
We were greeted by the founder of Warner Edwards, Tom Warner. He poured us very large doubles of Harrington Dry Gin. First time I was trying the Dry Gin and I was surprised I hadn't tried it sooner. It was a beautiful simple gin, nothing to crazy just a good gin and tonic. We all sat down and listened away as Tom talked us though each of his gins, the stories behind each one. W.E is seen as one of the older gin distilleries in the country. Its 5 years 6 months and 3 days old (9th June 2018) His dad still goes to collect water from the springs. Its a real family run business. They were the firsts to bring us Rhubarb Gin. Harringdon Botanical Garden Gin was inspired by his mother who passed away in 2016.
Jerermy Stephens W.E's distillery and technical director talked us through how they distill and what we were about to experience today. Lois Gauthier W.E's distiller (he has the super hard job of tasting gin all day long) Told us how they created the Junipalooza Gin. They asked Facebook followers to pick their favorite botanicals to create this limited addition. Only 200 participants would get a bottle of this gin, which means I'm the only one who gets to drink it when I get it home. We all got to date and name our bottles, apply the label and wax the seal.
Fever- Tree's Gin School
Who would thought I would be excited for school. On arrival we were all given a large gin and tonic. We were then introduced to the brand and the tonic range, trying each one and seeing which was our favorite. Once we figured out which tonic was our favorite we started having fun. We blended our own gins, I opted for citrus and floral. I then got to label my bottle but trust me to get it all wonky.... guess that is more 'hand-made' that way.
With my list of the gins that I had to try in my hand, we made our way to Number 1 on this list – Lone Wolf. Coming all the way from Aberdeen, Lone Wolf are actually partners with Brewdog and as perfectionists at heart, they did an impressive 197 trials to get the perfect gin. I think that they succeeded – it is pretty awesome! The bottle is sleek, and I love that they have an elastic band holding down the label. They also have their own tonic water and pre-made drink in a can. What helped even more was the rep from the brand was super handsome, could have stood there all day long listening to him talk but time was ticking buy and other brands were calling my name.
We then made our way to Four Pillars and I was excited to try Sherry Cask Gin, a beautiful gin with Spanish Amontillado Sherry. I tried it neat and on the rocks, this gin is definitely on my list of gins to buy!
Pothercary gin sits very proudly in my gin collection, only special people get to try it when they come over to mine. (no one has actually tried it... its mine, all mine) My friends wanted to see what the fuss was about because I always speak so highly of the gin. We spoke to one of the creators about the gin. He introduced the gin to my friends and I was shown the limited addition Thai blend and Sicilian blend. I tried them neat and my friends tried it with tonic. They both are beautiful gins but I'm still in love with the classic.
Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin were located in the newcomer section, and I instinctively wanted to try this gin. Reason number one was because I’m Indian and I’m always routing for all things Indian, and secondly, because its one of India’s first craft gins. On a recent trip to India I was gutted when I could only find exported gin and nothing local so I was pretty excited to try this gin. Jay Dhawan was full of energy when he told us all about the gin that had only launched the day before. A blend of Himalayan juniper, coriander, fresh turmeric, dried ginger, cardamom, dried mango, almonds, and gondhoraj lime, this gin truly is something else! I can’t even begin to compare it to anything else that I have tried. It’s 100% individual, and I had to have a bottle! We drank it neat and then with ice, the way it should be drank. I was a little gutted to find out I would have to place a pre-order to get my hands on a bottle… but in 6 weeks, this gin will be mine. I don’t think that I will be sharing it with anyone. Come to think of it I should have actually ordered two bottles.
Had the pleasure of meeting Jon Hillgren, founder and head distiller at Herno. Herno Gin is always so highly spoken of. If you google 'worlds best gin' its always high up in everyone's recommendations... How is it that I've never tried it? Herno gin collected the most awards at The International Gin Master 2013. Since then they have continued to rake in the awards, I could name them all but how long do you guys have? Now about the taste of the amazing gins... I remember liking them at the time of tasting however Jon was very very generous with his sampling as most of it is a haze now.
I did try many other gins but unfortunately I don't remember, which sucks but it means I can go out and try them all over again and potentially add them to my list of gins to buy.
I was lucky enough to attend both days of Junipalooza and I had a great time. 100% lived up to what I thought it would be like. If I could change anything I would have made the day a little longer but then you would have hundreds of drunken gin lovers roaming the streets of London. Can't wait to do it all over again next year... Can it be June 2019 already?
#memelovesgin #junipalooza #gin #herno #warneredwards #fevertree #lonewolf #worldginday #hapusa #pothecary #fourpillars