How much gin is too much Gin? Well for Gin journey that answer isn't 5 tasters, 5 cocktails and an extra gin for the journey; the menu for the newest experience to come to Brighton this summer. Gin Journey is a chaffeaured gin tour around Brighton championing local brands and businesses, with gin knowledge from what they loving call your 'Gin Guardian'.
On national Gin day, Henry and I went along to their launch tour to try out the latest foodie/drinkie experience to come to Brighton and the first stop on the tour was The Fix.
At each venue, you are greeted with a taster of the gin that they're highlighting in the venue. These have been picked not only because they are great gin's but also to highlight some of the qualities of the city that the tour is in including sustainability and 'camp'.
In The Fix we sampled the delicious Foxhole Gin alongside a cocktail, made with the same gin, local arundel cucmber and soda water. I love myself a gin but would never drink it straight; our Gin guardian Jake not only gave us the confidence to do that but also spoke us through some of the great back stories of the gin itself. Did you know it's actually made from British wine grapes? The cocktail itself was refreshing and a great smooth start.
After an exceptionally short ride in their amazingly-named Gini bus, we were at venue number two, Gung-ho. I have, of course, heard of this small sustainable cocktail bar on preston street but never managed to go before.
The bar itself champions british produce and freshly squeezed juices and even uses hand-chipped blocks of ice and sustainable straws! We were served a picked pineapple cocktail made from a delicious tropical gin made by the brand, Porters. This was definitely my favourite gin and cocktail and will definitely try them both again!
Although the tour is (clearly) about the gin, the guardians definitely took their time to look after us! Making sure we were constantly stocked up water and encouraging food in our third venue; Plaeau. We put our orders in at the bar before and were again greeted by tasters and cocktails on arrival, shortly followed by the much-needed food.
Henry and I went for olives, crispy potatoes with paprika and porta as a mid-tour snack alongside our third gin, Jensen's. This gin was a little too strong straight for me with just the taster but the delicious citrusy cocktail to go with our food was a great accompaniment.
Next, to a venue I know and love Plotting Parlour. This time we were given space in their beautifully decorated private room and served with tasters and cocktails again.. I should note I had to change mine due to an orange allergy, I didn't just get an extra cocktail for fun! The gin itself was called silverback and although it wasn't to my taste (it was the strongest one on the tout) I loved the brand and ethos...
Alongside making a small batch and award-winning gins Silverback supports a great cause; with £1 of each bottle of spirit sold going to The Gorilla organisation, a charity doing important work to save mountain gorillas from extinction.
Our final venue was The Golden Pineapple, a hidden gem on ship street that Henry and I actually stumbled upon a few days after it had opened last year. We were treated to taster of Aviator, an American gin that is actually owned by Ryan Reynolds who states "I've tried every gin on the planet and Aviation is, hands down, the best. Also, I don't recommend trying every gin on the planet. Stick with this one."
The cocktail alongside was a pineapple tiki-style drink mixing the gin with pineapple and elebroate decorations, classic tiki style! I can't tell you much more other than it was delicious and I highly recommend...gin.
In all seriousness, this was a great day. I would definitely recommend booking on either as a different kind of date-day or in a small group of people. There's a good mix of drinking and also knowledge around gin; from the making of it to the history of brands and the history of gin itself.
The tour took a total of 4 and a half hours so it's definitely a whole day event, it's perfect for a local Brightonian or someone visiting the city and looking for the best cocktail spots!
You can book your spot on their next tour over on their website; Gin Journey and you can also get vouchers so it's a great gift for any newlyweds or friends, who you know like a gin or cocktail.
No comments
Post a Comment