Gin Corner at Kents Hill Park

Since 2010 Gin has had a massive revival. In particular the British Gin industry which had a record breaking year in 2015 with sales nearing £1bn. The value of gin sold in supermarkets reached £400 million while on- trade sales also did particularly well according to a report from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association WSTA. 

“There is definitely a Gin boom at the moment” Sarah Glossop, Head of Sales and Marketing Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre, “This is being led by the popularity of the drink within the 18-34 age bracket and the diverse abundance of quality products in the marketplace. They have become so popular we have created a ‘Gin Corner’ in our ‘Lounge Bar’. We are extremely lucky to have Paul Mott on our team who has a wealth of experience in the bar industry. In October last year Paul competed in the Conference Centres of Excellence –Chef’s Challenge  where he won the award for ‘Best Cocktails’ as well as ‘Service Champion’ and along with Chef Nic Harry, ‘Best Team’. We gave Paul the challenge of selecting a range of outstanding Gins and he really has come up trumps”

Even though there are hundreds of Gins on the market at the moment not a lot of people realise that Gin comes in 7 different styles. You have the more common London Dry’s such as Gordons and Bombay Sapphire. Then there’s the  New Western styles such as Martin Millers and Hoxton. The older more traditional style is called Old Tom with brands such as Haymans or Jensen’s.  Navy Strength has an abv of 55%! It had to be this potent because Naval Officers would drink it on old warships; if they spilt this Gin on the gunpowder, they would still be able to get it to light! Sloe Gin is more of a liqueur and is made using sloe berries and sugar and has a low abv of around 20%. You also have your Gins such as Plymouth and Xoriguer from Menorca which like Champagne and Tequila are protected by laws governing the region they are produced in. Finally the grandfather of Gin is Genever. This is a Dutch spirit and is made with varying amounts of malt wine and was given to soldiers before heading into battle giving them what we know today as Dutch Courage. 

Gin Corner at Kents Hill Park offers 8 different gins taken from the different styles available as well as a premium tonic in Fever Tree. We serve our G&T’s  with lots of ice in a tall glass with varying garnishes from berries, citrus, mint and even cucumber!

Coming into what we hope will be a hot summer, guests will want a long refreshing drink to cool down and slowly sip in the sun and nothing beats a G&T!!