Spirit of Speyside Gin Festival to showcase 12 stunning local gins
Speyside may be known for whisky production, but next weekend it will be celebrating the wonderful array of local gins on offer.
The inaugural Spirit of Speyside: Gin Experience will feature a Garden Party at Gordon Castle with local food, music, gin and cocktails. Over the weekend there will be ‘meet the maker’ sessions, cocktail events, sampling experiences, dinner, gin pairings and lots more.
Organised by the people behind The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, the weekend will celebrate the public love of gin and the successful gin brands coming out of Speyside.
The flagship event takes place at the historic Gordon Castle Walled Garden in Fochabers on Saturday 13 July with other events taking place in towns and villages the length and breadth of the region.
Gordon Castle Gin will be one of the 12 brands offered to guests, who will also be able to enjoy superb local food while listening to live music performances in the surrounds of Gordon Castle Walled Garden. Unsurprisingly, tickets are selling fast!
Other events will be held in hotels, bars, restaurants, and on board a steam train on Friday 12 July and Sunday 14 July. These will include gin-inspired afternoon tea, cocktail making, food and drink pairings and masterclasses.
Festival chairman James Campbell said the Speyside region is a leading force in food and drink production, so it should come as no surprise that small craft gin distillers and major brands are putting the region on the gin map.
: “For the past 20 years Speyside has delivered one of the country’s most successful whisky festivals and more recently we launched Spirit of Speyside: Distilled, a food and drink weekend.
“Both events have shown that both visitors and locals love the provenance of the brands, the chance to meet the people passionate about the drinks they make, and to try different masterclasses and experiences while socialising with friends.
“We will capture that with this brand-new festival where drinks lovers can share their enjoyment of gin and cocktails and discover more about the brands being produced on their doorstep.
“Spirit of Speyside: Gin Experience” brings together 12 fantastic local gins, served in the stunning and magnificent region in which they are made. I don’t know of any other area in the world that celebrates its local gin producers in this way, with different events taking place in towns all over the region over three days, to create what will be a very special weekend.
The following Speyside brands are involved: Avva, Byron’s, Caorunn, Daffy’s, Duncan’s, Eight Lands, El:gin, Gordon Castle, Inschriach, Kinrara, Red Door and Tenacious.
Tickets for the Gordon Castle flagship event cost £20 each and includes six free taster sample measures of gins. Transport to the Castle, can also be booked for an additional cost, from Forres, Elgin, Lhanbryde, Aberlour, Craigellachie, Dufftown and Keith.
Tickets for all Gin Experience events are on sale at www.speysideginexperience.com. As there is limited availability at most events, early booking is advised
