Excitement is building over Swindon’s first ever gin festival this autumn, as SUE BRADLEY discovers

SWINDON’S first gin festival is proving to be the hottest ticket in town, with early bird passes selling out shortly after going on sale.

Yet organisers of the keenly anticipated event at the Swindon Steam Museum on September 29 and 30 say more opportunities to try some of the world’s finest spirits will be made available as it draws closer.

More than 100 different types of gin, including Tinker and Brockmans will be available for visitors to sample at GinFestival.com, which is expected to draw in hundreds of people.

Visitors will have the opportunity to experiment with different brands and explore a variety of flavours, learn more about gin, be entertained by live musicians and enjoy a fun evening along the way.

GinFestival.com began in 2013 after husband and wife team Jym and Marie Harris developed a taste for the spirit. The couple soon realised how there were many different versions of gin and set about trying different ones to see which ones they liked best. And after failing to find any events that offered them the opportunity to taste different brands, they decided to create their own.

The first GinFestival.com was held in Leeds and the couple were bowled over by the excitement it generated. Since then the overall level of interest in the botanicals-infused spirit has grown exponentially, leading the Harrises to hold 28 events throughout the UK in 2016 and plan 38, including Swindon, for this year.

“It’s always a gamble when we go somewhere new, but we knew our event would be popular in Swindon,” says Laura Walsh from GinFestival.com.

“We have selected a great location to come and we’ve already seen that there’s a demand.”

A gin and tonic, or G&T as many people like to call it, is now as much a part of British life as a cup of tea, but the spirit actually originated in Holland, where it is said to have been produced as a medicine.

Over time juniper berries were used to make the drink more palatable, along with a variety of other aromatic herbs and flowers, known as botanicals.

Gin found its way into the UK in a noticeable way after British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years’ War became used to taking a tot of ‘Dutch Courage’ to warm them up during long campaigns in damp weather.

In time stills were set up throughout the country and the drink became popular with the poor, especially after King William III – who was Dutch – passed a series of statues actively encouraging it to be distilled in Britain.

By the 18th century, however, this ‘strong water’ had become a scourge and commentators condemned the “drunkenness of the common people”. The term ‘mother’s ruin’ was being coined by the end of the 19th Century.

Efforts to increase duty on gin and make it prohibitively expensive caused riots during the 1730s, although replacement policies had the effect of encourage more respectable companies to make the drink, resulting in the high quality product still enjoyed today.

For many years, London Dry was acknowledged as the premium type of gin in the UK. This style is legally defined as being 70% ABV and not containing any artificial ingredients or additions of flavourings or colourings after the distillation process and only a minimum amount of sugar.

Plymouth gin is geographically protected, which means it can only be produced in the Devon city from which it gets its name. It is similar in taste to a London Dry, albeit sweeter and flavoured with fruits and earthy roots.

The tradition of enjoying tonic water with gin is said to date back to the time of the British occupation in India, when colonists were encouraged to drink quinine to ward off malaria and started adding the spirit to make it more palatable.

The resurgence in gin as a popular drink over the past few years, and explosion in brands, has much to do with the Sipsmith company, which made history in 2009 after applying for permission to distil alcohol in small amounts. This move effectively brought an end to restrictions that had been in place since Victorian times to stop spirits being made at home.

Since then a new world of gin has opened up, with increasing numbers of small producers taking advantage of the opportunity to experiment and create new, interesting and exciting craft drinks.

Among them is ‘Tinker Gin’, developed by Jym and Marie in the ‘Spanish style’ and tasting of well-rounded berries and gentle sherbet. It is made by distilling juniper, coriander, orange, lemon, cassia, cinnamon, orris, angelica, liquorice, nutmeg and elderberry to create a contemporary classic.

Visitors to Ginfestival.com are presented with a traditional Spanish-style copa glass, from which they can sample 25ml measures of different gins purchased from the bar, along with premium tonics, ice and the correct garnish for the type of spirit they’re trying.

Anybody keen to get tickets for the gin festival in Swindon, sessions for which take place from 6.30pm to 11pm on Friday September 29 and from 12.30pm to 5pm and 6.30pm to 11pm, should register for the event’s newsletter at www.ginfestival.com/newsletter to be the first to know when the next batch goes on sale.

Sipsmith London Dry Gin with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic. Garnish with a wedge of lime.

Plymouth Gin with Fever-Tree Aromatic Tonic. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

General rule – 1/4 gin (we suggest a measure of 50ml) to 3/4 tonic.

Tip: Twist the orange zest over your drink to release the essential oils and aromas, before dropping it in.