The Glasgow Gin Club Premiere

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As you may or may not know, Glasgow Gin Club had it’s very first Glasgow event on Friday (June 6th) at The Hidden Lane Tearoom. It certainly would have taken a great deal of skill to avoid this information if you are friends, work colleagues or mere Facebook acquaintances of any of the three of us.

Our aim for the night was always simple – bring really good Gin to the people, have a good old chat about the stuff and just have fun. There are SO many mind blowingly good Gins out there that people don’t know about, and it was almost criminal not to do something about it. I guess we knew (or should I say hoped) that no matter what happened along the way, as long as we had enough great Gin and really good tonic on the night, plus a half tonne of ice shards we could keep a tearoom full of Gin fans happy.

After 6 weeks of; planning event format, confirming Gin’s, designing membership cards, matching garnishes, securing a venue, changing original event format, roping in friends, calling in favours and sourcing 100 miniature spoons for Gin jelly with 24 hours to spare – Gin Club was almost ready to open it’s doors for the very first time.

The Gin gods were definitely on our side on Friday night – the sun continued to beat down as the evening drew in and although for once we were not celebrating Gin o’clock ourselves, it was the ultimate G&T weather. The Tearoom doors opened at 7.30pm with the event set to kick off just after 8pm and as  membership card no. 4 was handed out at around 7.35pm (the founders being numbers 1,2 and 3 and Snoop Dogg 213 – see instagram) Glasgow Gin Club became official.

Tables were set with tasting cards alongside the corresponding bottles and in keeping with the vein of our amazingly unique venue, it seemed only fitting that we used some empty bottles from our personal collection to hold one or two flowers – let’s just say Stuart had a busy week to ensure we had enough Gin Club vases.

Ok, so details…..what Gin’s did we actually serve at Gin Club? The running order (all served with Fever-Tree Indian tonic water);

(i) London No.3 Dry Gin  – a traditional London Dry Gin created with 6 botanicals in copper   pot stills – garnished with a slice of lime.

(ii) The Botanist – hails from Islay and contains 31 botanicals in total – 22 are foraged on the island – served with a slice of lemon and sprig of thyme.

Interlude – Gin and Elderflower Jelly

(iii) Strathearn Heather Rose – the combination of Rose and Heather produce this uniquely delicate, floral Gin – no garnish just tonic.

(iv) Caorunn – 6 traditional and 5 celtic make up the 11 botanicals in Caorunn, one of which – the Rowan Berry gives the Gin it’s name – delivered with a slice of red apple in the glass.

To Finish – Gin and Tonic Sorbet courtesy of Mad Chef

The lovely Craig Johnston kindly agreed to come along and drop some serious tunes as the soundtrack to our evening (promised payment in Gin of course) and who didn’t enjoy a bit of The Temptations, Chrvches or the Jurassic Park theme tune while sipping on their Gin and Juice? Bridget from the Hidden Lane Tearoom was also on hand to serve some of their own delicious baked treats. Gin, Jelly, Cake, Sorbet and Sunshine – think we covered almost all bases.

Now, 5 days after Event No. 1, we can confirm that we served over 200 G&T’s to a little over 50  Gin Clubber’s – a number that we’re still overwhelmed by. As a result Gin fever has well and truly hit Gin Club HQ – Who are we kidding? We’ve always had it. But  the ideas for what comes next are certainly mounting up.

Thanks again to absolutely everyone who came along (both under order and free will) and helped us through the Gin and 120 bottles of tonic. We hope that a few of you may be willing to do it again…?

Photography by Ritchie Patton

Gin Club At The Hidden Lane Tearoom

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After countless emails, several agendas and drafts of minutes for Gin Club meetings involving a stressed Kate and two calm and collected boys……we have some exciting news – Gin Club is coming to The Hidden Lane Tearoom for it’s very first event!

On Friday the 6th of June we will be hosting an evening of Gin (of course), Banter (always guaranteed) and music. As you may have gathered, we all love Gin, now we want to invite you all to drink some really amazing G(&T’s) and understand why we talk about the stuff every minute of every day (near enough) and perhaps more importantly find out what really goes on at Gin Club…..

Tickets are available here  http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/123645

We will be revealing more details as the week goes on so watch this space!

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The London Gin Club

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As I get on the train back from London (with a just small hangover), I feel I should tell you all about my new happy place – The Star in London which between 6 and 11 becomes The London Gin Club.

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Having to travel to London for the week, I knew I had to go and check this place out, it would just be plain rude not to visit the home of The London Gin Club.

Situated in the centre of London, maybe 5 minutes walk from Oxford Circus and down a side street, there is a little bar on the corner, which you might just miss if you weren’t looking. Thankfully I had trusty Google Maps to show me the way.

Upon finding the place, we were greeted and asked if we had a reservation – we did not, but luckily they were happy to sit us at the end of the bar so we could get our well-deserved Gin. The lovely Kate (not our one) came over, told us a little bit about the bar, showed us the menu and helped us decide upon what to drink. By decide, she basically told us where to start, but I certainly can’t complain as she returned with 2 rather tasty Gin and Tonics; a King of Soho and Monkey 47. We sat on our stools at the end of the bar, me – with a grin from ear to ear like a kid in a candy shop.

After starting to work our way through the menu, we decided that we should get a taster selection – choosing to go for the over proof selection of strong Gins!

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We were joined again briefly by Kate who chatted for a little about the Gins, before we got talking about Glasgow Gin Club. Then we were off, chatting and sharing Gin knowledge and giving them ideas of what else to stock. We sat and drank until they closed (obviously), in the end I was the last one to leave – I would have been quite happy to stay all night. I also got chatting to Deena who was working behind the bar, pouring and serving the Gins perfectly.

As the night drew to an end I headed off to the tube, still grinning like a Cheshire cat, having drank great Gins all night and making two new friends.

After having such a great time on the Thursday, I would have been gutted if I hadn’t popped back on the Friday for one last drink (which maybe turned into two but I wasn’t counting).

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Turning up at about 10pm on Friday every table was taken, both upstairs and down, with everyone working really hard to keep the Gin flowing and keep people happy. We were lucky that a table had just become available before we arrived, so we said all our hello’s before grabbing a seat and ordering our first Gins of the night, when last orders were called we just had to get another.

Anyway, would like to say a huge thank you to everyone working both nights that we were in, you were all very informative and clearly love Gin as much as I do. Special thanks to Kate and Deena who looked after us so well and were lovely to chat to. Hopefully, we can see you again soon either down in London or up here when we have a little event of our own. Hope you all managed to get a staff drink after your busy Friday.

I would really recommend that anyone down in London visit this busy little place. With such a fine selection of drinks to choose from, some may find it difficult to make up their minds – but don’t worry they have a Gin “Wheel of Chance” to help you decide – next time I’m down I’m spinning it all night.

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Caldo

A Gin Bar And A Barn

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So….Brew At The Bog feels like almost like a century ago now (slight exaggeration), but things have been so busy with Gin Club that we are only just getting round to telling you about it now. Put simply, we had an amazing day! The Gin Bar looked incredible, the staff went above and beyond and the Gins were literally flying off the shelf, I think almost all had sold out by the end of the day. We really were taken aback by the intrigue and interest in what we’re up to and about Gin in general – turns out our fascination maybe isn’t so crazy?! Anyway, Brew you have inspired us and hopefully (fingers crossed) we’ll be bringing our Gin vision back home to Glasgow very soon!

I had the best intentions of documenting the whole thing in photographic form, only to realise that I had left my memory card in some unknown place that is still to be identified, cue ridicule from the boys. The iPhone functioned as an emergency back up, but I can only apologies for the poor attempt that follows.

A few final credits; To This Silent Forest who powered through on a drenched and fittingly named Pond Stage, battling with just a few minor technical difficulties and to Yvonne for allowing us to be part of The Gin Bar in the Barn….

Kate

The Origins Of Gin Club

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You’ve read about the Wedding, Arisaig, the Homemade Gin and know more about Squirrel’s daily routine than you may have bargained for. Now it’s time to read about us….The Gin Club.

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So there you are, two men about to hit the late stages of their twenties, one slightly further along than the other (even although many people think that the younger of the two is the older brother of the other – typical).  Both like Gin, one has a more discerning taste and he slowly builds a rather bespoke collection. Following Birthdays and Christmas’ of asking only for Gin the collection continues to grow.  His shorter, less grey friend comes round often and they start to sample each in turn. This happens more and more.  One supplies the Gin, the other, the ice, tonic and garnish; until the shorter (and ultimately chubbier/buff) friend decides he should start purchasing his own bottles of craft and small batch Gin too. They start drinking these gins before heading out and painting the town a creamy beige colour.

These nights of Gin appreciation were always accompanied by their love of everything social media orientated.  They were after all the first generation to really take to chat rooms, Hot or Not, Faceparty, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.  Whilst testing the Gin they would be on YouTube watching anything from Rap Battles to People Falling Over, this was accompanied by Tweets and photographs of the Gin of choice, and affectionately labelling it “A Club”.

Through the world of social media, people responded to the pictures and posts asking, “Can I become a member of Gin Club?”. Slowly before and sometimes after nights out, the club grew in size.  Gradually this club started meeting more and more, continuing to watch things on YouTube but more importantly to chat and drink Gin.  First some Gin companies noticed. Then a festival noticed and asked, “Fancy curating a Gin bar?”, of course they said yes.  BBC Radio Scotland noticed, “Fancy coming on the radio to chat about Gin?”, again they said yes.  Before long they were speaking to Gin distillers from all over the world, their tweets became a blog, their private social media accounts became the Gin Club pages – it was official.

Then it was time to take things to the next level; organised nights with Gin tasting, music, banter and of course more Gin.  Time to organise more Gin events.  Time to get serious with blogging about the product they loved so much. And time to get a lady scientist to come in and organise the tall one and the shorter one into a well-oiled Gin machine….

The First Time I Ever Saw (Tasted) Your Face (Gin)

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So I was sitting on my usual 11:30 am perch, as I do everyday at roughly this time. I won’t say where exactly, however, to the males reading this it’s the place you sit and feel at your most relaxed, unless it was a heavy night before, you’re ill or if you have been on you smart phone and leaning on your knees until your legs go numb.

Anyway while sitting there contemplating this week’s Gin Club post. I started to think at what point I started liking Gin and I can remember it exactly. Best start from the beginning….

So my Dad (the old fart Stewart Macdonald) loves Gin, however, he speaks of a time where the mere smell of the stuff used to make him wretch. I also had the same experience. Any of my friends will know I never really took to drinking with the rest. I hated the smell and taste of all booze. I always imagined red wine would taste like Ribena – it doesn’t and has been a disappointment ever since.

So, I had this distaste for alcohol (which isn’t a bad thing, in Scotland it’s just considered weird). What I did have a taste for, was making and serving it to my Dad. I apparently pour the best Gin and Tonics in the Macdonald household, well I did, now my eight year old nephew does, start them young eh? I remember pouring Gin and neither enjoying the smell nor the wee sip I would take just to confirm that I indeed didn’t like it. Eventually I accepted this fact and stopped.

One night whilst still at University I was out in Perth and a girl I knew happened to be there, I think her name was Lyndsay Buchan (if you’re reading this or know of her, tell her I missed the boat and it plagued me for a few months as you/she, is/was hot). We were chatting away in Sportsters (local pub/nightclub) whilst queuing at the bar. She asks “Do you want a drink?”, of course I said “Yes”. At this point in my life I was pretty strict with what I drank, Jack Daniels and Pepsi or nothing at all. “Good” she replied, “I’m drinking Gin”, naturally I thought, hey, I could be in here. So, obviously I said, “Cool I will have one of those too” (knowing full well I couldn’t stand it).

Whilst debating who was paying for this round, I go into my wallet to pull out a £20 note and a condom falls out. She picks it up and says, “Someone’s sure of himself”. Red faced I reply “I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it”. Yes that was cool of me, however, it was a long time ago and I no doubt didn’t execute it in such a smooth manner. Anyway, we sat down and drank the Gins.

That night I loved Gin, it tasted so fresh, clean almost. It was citrusy and cold. The Gins went down better than the Jack. From then on in, all I drank was Gin and Tonic. My Dad’s bottles didn’t last as long and he stopped getting me to pour them.

I will say that not all food stuffs that I have tried because of a hot woman have worked out so well. Dundee German market for example. Hot olive girl handing out free olives. I put one in my mouth and chew, she says “Good?”. “Yes” I grimace back. I rapidly excuse myself and spit the thing out. Caldo quips “I knew you didn’t like olives”. “Aye, but she was hot”. Olive fail.

I haven’t seen Lyndsay Buchan in about eight years; I think she moved to Australia. But anyway, thanks for making me like Gin.

Squirrel

The Present – Lemon Grass & Ginger Gin

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Oh this Blog is not going in chronological order at all, oh well bugger it, this is how my brain seems to work.

So I was recently at a wedding up in Arisaig with fellow Gin Clubber Caldo (see post below). The wedding was Ritchie’s – an old school friend from Blairgowrie. Ritchie is a fellow Gin lover but has never actually been along to Gin Club to drink Gin and get the banter. So, as a present, me being a cheap skate (this didn’t actually turn out to be the cheap or stress free option) decided to craft my own Gin. After a long think about my favourite flavours and possibly a few impulse buys in Waitrose (yes, I have become that person who shops in the shop where people of a certain age, and what they perceive is their social standing, look at you with disdain and never apologise for walking into you) we were ready to go.

To kick-start the process I bought a 1 litre bottle of decent 50% ABV vodka, I should whisper this was Smirnoff Blue Label, and a second bottle of 40%. I also had a whole piece of ginger root – the standard size any supermarket sells, four stalks of lemon grass, a handful of dried juniper berries (about a small tea-cup – when I weighed it, it was around 20 grams) and a healthy pinch of rosemary. As you may have gathered there is nothing scientific or measured here. I was just going on my knowledge of flavours, making a Gin is as standard as everyday day cooking, isn’t it?

Everything was chopped up, except the dried juniper berries which were bashed, broken or used whole. The 50% vodka was added to a mixing bowl, then into that was added the botanicals. The bowl was covered in clingfilm and left. Everyday for two weeks I would open it up and stir. As time went on you could see the liquid begin to take on the colour of the ingredients, it became very orange or “gingery” in appearance. At this stage it was exceptionally bitter to the taste. On the Friday morning, after the two weeks of infusion, Caldo and I removed the clingfilm for the final time to filter and taste. The liquid had lost a fair bit of it’s volume due to evaporation, so in went the remainig bottle of 40% vodka – this instantly removed the bitterness of the concentrated Gin. It’s hard to explain but the remaining liquid felt stronger than the liquid that went in in the first place.

Once all the botanicals had been removed and the extra vodka was added, small particles could still be seen remain. We decided to strain further using coffee machine filter papers. This process took hours. Upon completing the first few filtrations we observed liquid was being lost through evaporation so we rebottled with the decision to reconvene at the wedding venue. Within three hours further sediment had settled in the newly bottled Gin so we filtered again before leaving overnight. Another 12 hours, and more sediment. We completed a final filtration which resulted  in an orange but significantly clearer liquid.

The Gin tasted great for a first attempt, the ginger and the lemon worked so well together. It was almost like Thai cuisine but minus the spice. When Fever-Tree and lime were added, it was transformed into a very refreshing and what would be a perfect Summer drink.

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Squirrel: Gin Club

Fagus House and The Botanist

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Having a Friday off is amazing, especially when you’re off to Arisaig for a wedding with the Gin Club. That Friday was also the day we stopped into the Bruichladdich offices to chat to Lynne McEwan about The Botanist.

After discovering that Lynne’s Dad was the genius behind The Botanist and hearing all about the Gin itself along with their newly branded bottle, it was time to accept a generous gift and get our skates on. On the walk home there was just enough time to pick up some more Gin (you can never have too much), the selection being Ophir, which has flavours of pepper and cardamom, followed by enough Fever-Tree tonic to cater for the whole wedding and something else which I hadn’t tried yet – a pre-mix Fentimens G&T which uses Bloom. I also had to pack my homemade infusion Gin which had been flavoured with lemon grass and ginger (a tiny bit of rosemary in there too).

I love driving up the West Coast, the road from Glasgow to Fort William is incredible. Glencoe must be one of the few places on earth where you want to remain at 40mph, as the scenery, regardless of how many times you have seen it or how cloudy it is, is still spectacular enough to make you slow down and look out the window (and nearly crash your car – as I almost did).

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Arriving at Arisaig was just as spectacular; an old private house, castle like in design – as are so many other noble Scottish houses, with a view out over the Sound of Arisaig. Caldo and I had a wee cottage which we were to share with the photographers Eve and Chris, who also came prepared with Gin, mixers and garnish. I won’t say what Gin they brought as it’s verging on breaking the rules….

The night started with Caldo and I enjoying The Botanist on our balcony overlooking a view of the Sound. I can safely say that Bruichladdich has produced something magical with this creation. Not only does the Gin play to my citrus loving palate (that might also have something to do the grapefruit I garnished it with), but it was a perfect match for the location at which it was being enjoyed – the shoreline of the West Coast. It’s an incredibly lovely Gin, as the night goes on you start to notice more and more of the flavours in there. The Gin also embodies the brand. Bruichladdich isn’t a classic distillery, the branding alone shows that they are modern in their vision. There is no pretence in the drinking of their products.  That’s a pet hate of mine, distillers that still treat their products as if it’s the 1940s and that they should only be enjoyed by people drinking from a nosing glass that will dissect the aroma, body and palate of the spirit. Don’t get me wrong I agree with tasting Gin and appreciating the notes and flavours which characterise each Gin but The Botanist proves that it’s an accomplished drink – do it justice, drink the thing and enjoy it.

I love their tasting notes, “Finish: All this from a beaten up old pot still, operated by beaten up distillers on the coast of heaven”. Well it tastes magical and we were drinking it on the coast of heaven at the best of events with the best of company.

Thank you Botanist.

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(Caldo with The Botanist – New Bottle)

Squirrel: Gin Club