Gins

It has been a good year for gin. Back in May I went to a gin festival at the Paintworks...

...which was a delightful occasion. I nearly subscribed to the monthly gin box but held back, because there are times when I go right off any sort of drinking and I envisaged a time when I had twelve bottles of gin lying around, waiting to be quaffed.

Funny I should have thought that:

I picked up a bottle of pink grapefruit gin during the trip Parpy Jo and I took to The Most Middle Class Services In The World, a week before Christmas. Upon returning home, I realised I had run out of space on the booze shelves and that the piano, too, was starting to fill up. Closer inspection revealed 10 gins, and shockingly, none of them were Hendricks, so I had to up that number to 11 the next day.

It's nice to have variety. I have a few flavoureds - gooseberry, grapefruit, homemade sloe, rhubarb, and elderflower. Then I have the Mallorcan gin Mother Hand brought back from holiday, Bombay Sapphire (everyday gin), Sipsmith, Heston's lemon and Earl Grey (very drinkable) and my current favourite, Halfhitch. This one's made with bergamot and is completely delightful. That was my find of the gin festival. I keep asking for it at the gin bar in Bath and they keep telling me it's on order. I've stopped believing them.

I suppose I should really make an effort to drink some of them, but it is nice to have such a variety.