Pub group urges consumers to Try Ginuary

The Inn Collection Group has urged drinkers to Try Ginuary as an antidote to the annual campaign of Dry January.

Each of the group’s inns – from the Lindisfarne Inn, which is located south of Berwick-upon-Tweed, opposite Holy Island in to the Kingslodge Inn, Durham – will showcase local gin s to encourage customers to put a different gin in their glass throughout this month (January).

Craft gins are at an all-time high at the moment and The Wine & Spirit Trade Association forecasts that overall gin sales will top the £1bn sales mark for the first time this year.

• Durham Gin – a small batch distilled in a 400-litre copper pot still called Lily using traditional methods.
• Masons Yorkshire Gin – distilled slowly and traditionally in two 200-litre stills called Steve and Lefty, the first gin to be distilled in Yorkshire containing juniper and citrus flavours.The Inn Collection Group ’s David Walker said: “We are trying to make January a little less blue by trying something that is more of a tonic, with a small collection of local craft gins that we have tasted and loved.“What’s more, they are all distilled in locations close to our inns.

  “Gin is so quintessentially British and with so many different taste variations now available, the possibilities for flavours seem endless, so we are keen to showcase some directly from our little region of the world.”

  Ice and a slice no longer cuts the mustard

  Walker said consumers aren’t limiting themselves when it comes to how to have their G&T.

  He added: “People are trying different garnishes too – ice and a slice of lemon no longer cuts the mustard and there are plenty of premium mixers upping their game to support the in-gin boom.

  “We’re initially offering the craft gins on a limited basis during January but if they prove popular, we’ll be looking to put them behind the bar full-time.

  “But if you are taking part in Dry January, don’t worry, we have plenty for you too including a fantastic selection of soft drinks, mocktails and non-alcohol beers and wine.”

  Hepple Gin is one of the tipples the group is offering drinkers and Walter Riddell from Hepple said: “We are thrilled that Hepple has been included in The Inn Collection Group’s Ginuary line up.

  “We make our gin rather differently, using young green juniper, sourced from the hills around Hepple near Rothbury in Northumberland.”

  Press for Gin innovation

  He added: “We use two separate distillation systems and a high-pressure extraction system to bring a crisp freshness not found in any conventionally made gin.

  • Gin is still the flavour of the month with consumers and gin makers Brockmans has introduced a gadget to let drinkers into a secret world to sip their tipple.The spirit producers built a pop-up gin bar and invited members of the public to enjoy a drink unbeknown to them that there was a secret world, hidden behind a fake wall in the bar.Brockmans co-founder and marketing director Bob Fowkes said: “Our unsuspecting guests were seated in a booth, where suddenly a ‘Press for Gin’ button appears.

    “When they pressed the button, the entire booth disappeared through the wall and into a secret world where our guests were served gin in a most unexpected way.

    “We filmed the whole thing and got some great footage of their reactions.”

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