Words Helen Brown & Brandon Clarkson
Gin lovers of the world rejoice as World Gin Day returns for its ninth year. This global celebration of all things gin, falls on Saturday 8th June this year, meaning you’ve got a whole Sunday to recover. Blogger Emma Stokes – known as Gin Monkey – runs the show and has been driving the celebrations with her enthusiasm for gin.
WHAT IS WORLD GIN DAY?
It’s all about getting people from across the globe together to drink gin, whether that’s in a cocktail, gin and tonic or neat. There’s a whole host of events held at bars, pubs and other venues in London, as well as loads of gin promotions. People from all over the world can also get involved on social media with the #WorldGinDay hashtag.
WHAT’S ON?
Bottomless Gin Brunch
Gin Mare has joined forces with Silent Pool, Colonel Fox and KI NO BI to host London’s first ever bottomless gin brunch. Held at Shoreditch’s Bull in a China Shop, gin-lovers will get to choose any dish from the bespoke brunch menu followed by a slice of Gin Mare gin and tonic lemon drizzle cake. Also on offer are four amazing gins, showcasing the globe-trotting styles of one of the world’s favourite drinks, from classic London Dry, Colonel Fox to the Japanese KI NO BI Gin.
Sanderson’s Berners Terrace at Simpson’s In The Strand
Just a stone’s throw from Oxford Street, Sanderson’s Berners Terrace is celebrating the English summertime with a new range of British inspired cocktails. For four months (June – September) Berner’s cocktail list will showcase quintessentially British beverages. Expect gin names like the Hampshire Tonic, English Summer Time and Secret Garden.
Junipalooza
Junipalooza is back once again at Tobacco Dock from 8 – 9 June. The annual festival is very much one of a kind. This year, the gins are so new, the brands have yet to make a website. Once through the door, you’ll be handed a tasting glass and off you go to sip your way through the next four hours. Your ticket entitles you to as many samples as you’d like to try, as well as access to a range of talks and masterclasses from industry experts.
Graphic Bar
To celebrate World Gin Day, Graphic Bar in Soho has collaborated with Plymouth Gin to create a ‘Floral Fizz’ cocktail which will be available on the day for just £6. With over 305 gins on the shelves, Graphic is sure to have a gin for everyone on World Gin Day.
Bermondsey Bar & Kitchen, 40 Bermondsey Street SE1
For eight weeks, guests at Bermondsey Bar & kitchen can watch live illustration sessions by acclaimed street artist INSA, while enjoying a selection of Bombay Sapphire cocktails. Customers who order the Canvas Cocktails can even edit the drink with a range of edible sprays and garnishes, before snapping the perfect picture of their serve in one of the Instagram booths.
Ask For Janice
With 39 perfect serve G+Ts on the menu, Ask for Janice is the perfect place to celebrate World Gin Day. Be sure to relax in this leafy restaurant as you sit with G+T in hand beneath a canopy filled with hanging pot plants, watching the bustle of Smithfield market.
Quaglino’s Bar
This World Gin Day, meander down the iconic staircase of Quaglino’s, making your way to their newly opened Q bar to try one of their sharing cocktails. Available by the glass for £12.50 or in an up-cycled wine bottle for £85.
Knight’s Bar at Simpson’s In The Strand
Hidden upstairs at this landmark London restaurant, the Knight’s Bar is an exceptional space for gin-lovers. This World Gin Day, they’ve has partnered with Whitley Neil, where the team has devised a menu of speciality cocktails for the occasion. Guests can perch at the chequerboard bar or nestle into sofas and pursue the ‘Boozy Bill of Fare’, which features over forty artisanal gins.
Swingers West End & City
Visitors at Swingers can enjoy an all-gin all-day cocktail menu at both venues, where the expert bartenders have created seven special gin cocktails. There’s also a 2-4-1 deal on the Swinger’s signature G&T – The Swinger. After your gin, enjoy a playful round of crazy golf.
Mr Fogg’s Gin Journey (Various Mr Fogg’s Sites)
Between 5-9 June, gin-thusiasts can head off on the ultimate gin journey with Bombay Sapphire through six of the famed Mr. Fogg’s London bars. Adventurers will follow a gin map from venue to venue, sampling a selection of delicious and unique cocktails made with either Bombay Sapphire or the new Bombay Sapphire Limited Edition: English Estate gin. Cocktail highlights include the Jasmine flower-infused Silk Sojourn and the Darjeeling tea infused An Elephant’s Progress. Tickets include six cocktails, one at each of the bars.
Tickets available here via Drink Up London, £40pp; mrfoggs.com
Wright Brothers Gin Journey
For just one day only (8 June), the Wright Brothers will be presenting a gin journey for gin-lovers as they take an excursion across the capital. Participants will visit three Wright Brothers venues (Battersea, South Kensington and ending in Soho). Guests will be accompanied with their very own gin sitter, in the form of gin expert, Leon Gallaway as they travel the city by Gini-Bus.
Tickets are £25pp with the price including five cocktails and three gin tasters. Tickets available here; thewrightbrothers.co.uk
London Cocktail Club, Oxford Circus
Founder and owner of London Cocktail Club, JJ Goodman has created a masterclass for cocktail drinkers to unleash their inner artist. Attendees will create and elevate their own take on JJ’s surrealism and fairytale-inspired cocktail, The Daydreamer. Book directly with London Cocktail Club from 10 June throughout the summer.
Tickets £22pp, available in London Cocktail Club, The Studio at Oxford Circus. The Experience includes 2 cocktails and a gift to take home; londoncocktailclub.co.uk
Dean Street Townhouse English Estate Afternoon Tea
Until the end of June, guests at Dean Street Townhouse can enjoy a bespoke afternoon tea menu including a Coriander and Cassia Bark Cake and Gin and Tonic Cucumber, Cream Cheese Sandwiches. Bombay Sapphire has curated three specially curated cocktails, Afternoon Fizz, Chelsea 75 and Three Roses Negroni for the occasion.
See the full menu here. Link to booking via Dean Street Townhouse, £32pp; deanstreettownhosue.com
