From Friday, March 15 to Friday March 22, a number of pubs and retail outlets in and around Rye will be offering a wide selection of specialist gins. Taking the trail and buying a gin will entitle you to collect a token voucher from each venue, with the chance of winning a prize bottle of gin at the end.
On the trail so far are The Bell at Iden, The Globe in Military Road, Queens Head in Landgate, Kings Head on Rye Hill, The Mermaid Inn, Olde Worlde Wine Bar in Cinque Ports Street, the Rye Deli in Market Road and Salts Farm Shop at East Guldeford. Other venues may join in.
There’s no better place to start than at the Olde Worlde Wine Bar on Friday March 15, when the annual Rye News Sloe Gin competition takes place. Samples of home made sloe gin are submitted by competitors for judging by a panel of tasters, with the winner being awarded a Cup to keep for the year until the next competition. Entry is by submission of a sample of min 100 ml by 7:30 pm and judging is at 8pm. All are welcome.
Next stop could be the Queens Head for a hop gin fizz with Mayfield Sussex gin and eitherh peach and elderflower or rhubarb and ginger. Then there is the The Bell at Iden, which has Seedlip Garden 108 gin which is non alcoholic – ideal for drivers on the gin trail.
Seedlip is the world’s first distilled, sugar and additive-free non alcoholic spirit made with herbs and botanicals as well as spices and citrus peels. (Seedlip is named after a word for an 18th century agricultural basket used for sowing seed).
Nearer Rye, you will meet the choice of over forty gins at the Globe. Theo, the manager, infuses many gins himself so there is gin to taste on the trail that you will not find elsewhere.
The other locations all have something special to offer along the trail. Salts Farm shop for example offers the choice of two local gins to buy and they also stock a range of culinary delights to enjoy with your bottle of gin.
Finally to the winning post in the Tudor Room at The Mermaid at 7:30pm on March 22 for the draw of the gin trail winners, when there will be gin cocktails plus a ginny quiz.
Image Credits: Photo by Lily Banse on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/photos/0VpjXDe5exk .