Gin’s a popular drink these days. So if you’re a fan of the G & T, you’ll love the gin blending masterclass at Ambleside Distillery, Hahndorf.

The distillery has a classy bar with large windows overlooking trees and grassy fields. On a sunny day, you can sit outside on their timber deck, have a drink and enjoy the view.

At the start of the masterclass, we met our host – Trudy. She runs the business with husband Steve and their son Matt. Each of them has made a signature gin and Trudy guided us through a tasting. I liked the ‘No. 8 Botanical’ best – with its fresh citrus plus hints of star anise and coriander.

With glass in hand, we toured the distillery room and had a sniff of the small, dark juniper berries which give gin its distinct flavour. We also had a look at the copper still (the distilling apparatus) affectionately called Doug. It’s named after Steve’s great uncle who liked to soothe his toothache with a gin and tonic. Sounds much more pleasant than a trip to the dentist.

Then Trudy said it was ‘time to create our own little gems’, and blend 2 small bottles. It’s like a delicious science experiment as you choose from the many different bottles of flavours, pipette drops to your beaker of gin, stir, then taste. Trudy explained that we should choose a hero ingredient, and build other flavours around it. I chose strawberry as the hero and added drops of pear, orange, lime and ginger to create a zesty fruit salad mix.

Trudy was available to taste our concoctions and offer advice on flavours that work well together. Feeling tipsy, I appreciated her guidance to keep me on the right track. For the second bottle, I stuck to my fruity theme and chose orange as the main player with hints of lemon, cardamom and the sweet and spicy cassia bark. People also added herbal flavours to their drinks like bay leaf, thyme and rosemary, or spicy choices such as jalapeno for that extra kick.

In this class, you can experiment with different tastes and blends to create your own unique drinks, which you get to take home. It’s a fun activity to do with friends. So take a drive to Ambleside Distillery and express your creativity on the blending bench.

By Carolyn J Wild

For more info: https://www.amblesidedistillers.com