On a gloriously sunny Saturday I went along to Theatr Clwyd who were hosting a Gin and Prosecco Festival. The festival has become an annual occurrence after a successful first event where some of the finest selections of Gins and Proseccos were on offer. I can confirm that at this second and very popular event the even more superb Gins and Proseccos were being sampled at a great rate, the ambience was light and summery and all this was helped along with a creative dose of live music from the very watchable Chester-based band, Fletch. I can highly recommend Fletch who got the atmosphere going and the Gin and Prosecco a-pouring!
The event took place in the Clwyd Room and forecourt, and created a lovely welcome as you arrived. Everyone was sitting in the sunshine with their chosen aperitif taking advantage of the warm weather. Along with Fletch, later on there was more live music from Pecker, ME and Deboe, plus DJs providing summertime festival hits.
The Alchemist were back again with their very popular cocktails, and were personally a huge hit with me, having my gin made up via some wizardly and magical fashion right in front of my eyes. And yes, there was LOTS of smoke! I have to say I received excellent service from the two gentleman making up my gin behind their cool and modern set up. On the day, your purchased ticket is exchanged for a wristband (you will need ID to be shown before receiving the wristband) and then you get a complimentary drink. You can then purchase tokens at £5 each and exchange them for one of the artisan gins (with all the trimmings) or a glass of the fine prosecco that will be on offer. It’s up to you if you want to sample the gins, wines, prosecco, or all of the above!
This event even had some new Welsh gin distilleries who were so interesting for me to talk to (I would loved to have sampled them all!) and I quickly learnt all about the life of gin and how it’s produced. As a Welsh girl and having grown up very close by to where some of these distilleries are, it was especially nice to hear all about the distillery tours on offer and I am very tempted to check the tours out further. We had experts from Aber Falls Distillery, In The Welsh Wind, Cariad Gin (Clwydian Range Gin), Conwy Distillery, Forgan Distillery, Hensol Gin, Llanfairpwll Distillery, Tappers Gin and The Alchemist Chester
On offer also is a gin blending experience (for approx 15 minutes) where you can craft your own 10cl bottle of unique gin to take home for just £10 or the equivalent tokens. The event started at 12pm and was to finish at 6pm so a full day’s experience. Too soon it was my time to depart although I’m sure the gin aromas themselves could have kept me there a while longer! There was also some delightful craft inspired foods on offer for those who got a little peckish. I will definitely be back next year though next time I may take full advantage and stay all day to truly soak up the atmosphere and sample more of those delightful gins and proseccos!
I’d like to leave you with an extract from a modern day story of patience, love, and tortoises...oh and of course gin! All care of Cariad Gin (Clwyd Range Distillery)...
The Tortoise And The Still (Extract): “This small business is solidly built on true family values, with everybody from the children to grandparents being involved at every stage, from picking local gorse petals through to labelling and delivery - indeed, it was the children who were keen to have a tortoise as the logo in tribute to the family’s much-loved pets, foraging for gorse flowers just as the tortoises forage for their food, this is why depiction of a tortoise now appears on each bottle..”
Reportage - Mary Fogg
on - 22/6/19
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