Emma Lots of Gin and some tonic
The Scottish Juniper Festival returned to Summerhall last weekend for its second year. With nearly 30 different types of gin on offer, this was heaven!
Summerhall is an amazing venue. We had heard a lot about here but never managed to have the time to visit. There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore.
Thankfully there were signs to show the way.
We arrived just in time for a masterclass by Jody, the Brand Ambassador for Rock Rose Gin.
After an outline of the history of Rock Rose Gin, and of course a neat sample. We tried their perfect serve. A different approach for a perfect serve, by using rosemary as their highlighter for the gin. Normally a taste is picked from the gin ingredients e.g citrus to enhance the taste. No rosemary in this gin. What the rosemary did do was give the gin a very different aroma, with the oils wafting around the room after being singed by the burner (sadly not a bunsen burner from the lab!)
We swung into action, trying to catch up on lost time.
This was a crisp and very junipery gin. Excllent neat and with tonic. Would be ideal at a boozy picnic.
Blackwoods Gin were showcasing their 2012 Vintage as well as their 60% gins. The 60% certainly had a kick – the alcohol just disappeared off your lips and left a wow feeling. The crowd around the table went quiet, in shock we think!
Both gins were tasty neat as well as with tonic, Fentimanns rose lemonade was a popular choice.
We loved the vibe. Retro, hand powered music, twinkly lights and it wasn’t filled to the brim so you could talk to producers and get to move around.
We would be here all night writing about each and every gin. So here are some we got to taste in picture form.
TL:DR
+ Gin!
+ Great vibe
+ Well worth the entrance fee
– Ran out of time to try all the gin and chat to everyone we wanted to 😔
Follow Scottish Juniper Festival on Facebook and Twitter and see you there next year!
