Gin, All Grown Up.

13th August 2021

A Guest blog by Vikki Harris.

Vikki is based at the Park, Teddington. A passionate marketeer and mischievous mother of three, she harbours a strong love for coffee and considers herself a ‘pub person’ through and through.

It’s fair to say that gin has enjoyed a long and storied past. In its mischievous youth, it was swigged by the litre, dubbed ‘mothers ruin’ and hastily distilled in every single bathtub in London.

But, the UK’s fastest growing spirit category has pulled up its socks in a big way and is now the grown-up drink of choice. Genderless, versatile and purportedly leaves the sipper hangover-free; gin is is living its best life since the ‘craze’ of the 1600’s. Here’s why:

Find your local

London Dry is the jewel in the crown of all gins. Defined by predominant juniper, never sweetened and always unsullied by colours or flavourings, this archetype is best enjoyed with flavoured tonics and mixers. Tonic aficionados Fever Tree have leapt off the starting blocks with this one and introduced a range of incredibly innovative sodas to pair perfectly with this model of purity.

Although gin is now in long trousers and has become one of the nation’s most loved spirits, it still likes to reminisce about its heyday. You can taste gin’s fun and happy-go-lucky nature in the wide range of flavoured gins that have sprung on to the scene in recent years.

Hayman’s Peach & Rose Cup is a youthful, exciting addition to our Spritz menus this summer alongside bold blackcurrant and much-loved Warner’s Raspberry. There are options for those of us who prefer the zestier things in life, such as bittersweet Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla and Malfy Rosa, which is positively bursting with juicy, fresh grapefruit. These are frisky, lively drinks, perfectly suited for drinking in a buzzing pub garden, which serves to highlight, without a doubt, that gin still has plenty of offer.