WITH Gin Festivals popping up all over the shop you’d think we’d be sated with that trendy juniper-infused tipple. Not so.
On Wednesday, March 1, Northern Quarter bar Pen and Pencil is hosting The Battle of the Gins. Three gins from around Europe – Manchester Gin, Mediterranean Gin Mare and Belgium’s Copperhead – are competing for the top spot in a blind tasting. The winner in this self-styled Gin-eral election will be rewarded with a listed cocktail on the new menu.
It costs £15 to join the judging panel, when you’ll get to sample all three gins plus three bespoke cocktails other discounted drinks and hear a pitch from each brand ambassador. At the end of the night attendees will receive a ballot paper to vote for the strongest candidate.
If you can’t make it, don’t fret. The bar will be offering an additional menu featuring all three gins from Monday February 27 to Sunday, March 5.
The Battle of the Gins, Pen and Pencil, Fourways House, 57 Hilton Street, Manchester M1 2EJ. 0161 660 3303. Wed, Mar 1 7.30pm-9.30pm. £15. Capacity is limited, so book early via [email protected]
A less competitive gin-centric event happens two days later, on Friday March 3, in E+C at The Vaults, housed in Bolton’s revamped Market Place Shopping Centre.
E+C is the MFDF Food Pub of the Year TheEagle and Child ‘in exile’ while its Ramsbottom pub base is being renovated. For £25 a head you get to taste 12 different gins, with expert commentary from the suppliers, followed by a three course dinner. Starts at 7pm Book via [email protected]