Alex Ruczaj gives the low-down on all gin bright and beautiful in Cambridge
It seems everyone has gone gin mad, especially us Brits, who spend an estimated £1 million a day on the spirit. That’s an awful lot of gin! Having well and truly shaken off its ‘mother’s ruin’ image, gin has hit the mainstream in a big way, with artisan gins popping up all across the land.
London may still be the epicentre of the revolution, but Cambridge has its own gin thing going on: a leading distillery, great local gins and some super-cool bars and pubs offering incredible gin lists. We set out to discover the gen on gin in Cambridge, and get to the bottom of why we all love it so much.
First stop is The Cambridge Distillery, which has become world famous since its humble beginnings in a house in Histon in 2011. The company’s gin tailoring service, which enables individuals to create bespoke gins according to their tastes, is the first in the world. The Distillery has also innovated with their own gins, most famously creating Anty gin, flavouring gin with red wood ants foraged from the forests of Kent, which is now a bestseller around the world. The Cambridge Distillery also waves the flag for Cambridge flavours with its Seasonal Gin, using local botanicals to create a new tasty gin four times a year (another first). The Distillery’s growing worldwide recognition and popularity was partly responsible for the opening of the Cambridge Gin Laboratory, under the cobbles on Green Street, in November 2015.
“We started winning lots of awards, which prompted a high interest from all over the world. People wanted to come and see what we were doing,” says Will Lowe, master distiller and co-founder of the Cambridge Distillery alongside his wife Lucy. “We wanted to create an interactive space where anyone could come to learn about and appreciate our gin. We’re currently booked up three months in advance.” The lab offers a range of events, tastings and experiences at different prices, and you can choose to be guided through the history of gin production, learn how to taste like a professional, or blend your very own gin. All activities include a nice G and T on arrival. How very civilised.
“The maceration uses local raspberries to flavour and colour the gin a delicate pink”
Another agreeably civilised and popular gin with a local connection is Pinkster. This gin is made at one of the oldest distilleries in the country in Warrington, but the maceration process, using local raspberries to flavour and colour the gin a delicate pink colour, is done just outside Cambridge in Barley. Pinkster has also gone global, but owner Stephen Marsh cites Cambridge as Pinkster’s ‘heartland’ and he doesn’t see our thirst for gin slowing anytime soon. “Gin is a very accessible drink. It appeals to both sexes and to all ages. When we launched there were 120 gins on the market, four years later there are 800.” This, he says, makes the gin business highly competitive, but ultimately it’s a good time for the gin enthusiast. “Nowadays people want a smooth drink and won’t accept substandard gins, which is fantastic for gin lovers.”
Cambridge Wine Merchants have certainly noticed an increase in demand for quality gins; they now stock over 180 varieties, and that list has more than doubled in three years. Alice Archer, head of events at Cambridge Wine Merchants, puts our seemingly insatiable desire for gin down to its breadth of flavour. “There really is a gin for everyone. The flavour excitement is huge; it’s just so versatile.”
Alice now runs a regular gin club on the first Tuesday of every month at the Cherry Hinton branch, where gin novices and connoisseurs alike can go and taste five different gins per session, along with a few nibbles and tonic water, if they want it. “At gin club I get people to try the gins neat on ice and they are always surprised that they like it. We look at different flavour groups; we’ve tried fruity, floral, spicy, wood, seaside, Christmas and even detox gins that are flavoured using superfoods like goji berries.”
The Cambridge gin scene is looking pretty healthy from where we are standing, with bars and restaurants, new and old, offering a huge array of gins, stocking the local stars and many more. The Royal Standard has Pinkster in pride of place in a fabulous dispenser alongside 55 others. The Pint Shop stocks several Cambridge Distillery gins, and an amazing 120 in total.
Our love of gin doesn’t seem to be waning; on the contrary, in Cambridge gin is on the up and up, with plenty to see, do and drink – responsibly, of course. Chin-chin!
Cambridge Ginspiration
Our guide to the top five gin things to do in Cambridge
1 Cambridge Gin Lab: Learn about it, taste it, blend your own bottle, and don’t miss Gin Dating on 19 May. It costs £150 for two people to make their own tailored gin.
2 Gin Tailoring: Rather than make your own bottle, enjoy an audience with The Cambridge Distillery’s award-winning master distiller who will measure your palate and create a unique blend for you in the VIP tasting room of their new distillery in Grantchester (by appointment only). You could also drop in and buy some of their gins from the small shop at the front of the distillery.
3 Vera Gin: Check the Plough at Shepreth’s website for this cheeky pop-up. Vera (Lyndsey Spellman) has a great knowledge and sparkling wit. Fun times and gin, what more could you want?
4 Gin Club at Cambridge Wine Merchants: At 7pm on the first Tuesday of every month join Alice Archer for gin tastings at the Cherry Hinton Road branch. £15 per session, or £12.50 if you were there the previous month. Book via [email protected]
5 You’ve just missed the Gin Festival in March, but why not sign up for the Cambridge Cocktail Weekend, during which you can sample Pinkster and many other gins and gin-based cocktails from Cambridge bars including La Raza and Ta Bouche.
