Raising a Glass for Local Gin

This month saw the first event hosted by our Northamptonshire & Leicestershire group. The evening included a fascinating talk and tour of the award-winning Warner’s Distillery in Harrington.

Warner’s were wonderful hosts, giving everyone an insight into the company’s history, along with the chance to sample a few of their excellent gins. We all then decamped to the charming village hall next door for a delightful buffet supplied by the talented Karen Castling-Hand of The Kitchen.

Innovating in gin

Tom Warner, who founded the company back in 2012, introduced the evening before Commercial Ambassador Ross Strachan took up the story. Ross entertained and informed our merry throng with a look at what makes Warner’s different, from the use of the local water on the Warner family’s Falls Farm to their insistence on using only the best botanicals, fruit and even their own honey to flavour their superb gins.

We then headed into the distillery to get a look at the stills. Head Distiller Lois Gauthier was on hand to give us a deeper dive into the mysteries of the distilling process. We sampled three gins, beginning with Warner’s original London Dry Gin, before heading to the village hall.

Championing local produce

Everyone was treated to a delicious buffet, put together by Karen Castling-Hand. Karen runs the catering operation at Harborough Innovation Centre, as well as outside events, and is a great champion of local produce, sourcing as much as she can from suppliers in the area.

As this was our first Northamptonshire and Leicestershire event, Melton Mowbray pork pie was on the menu, as well as some great local cheeses, a range of cold cuts and fabulous salads. Karen also served up a warming vegetable hotpot to accompany the buffet, and the meal was rounded off with her home-made brownies and Christmas cheesecake.

See you in 2020

The evening was a real success, with some new visitors as well as old friends coming along, which bodes well for the future of our Northants-Leicestershire branch. Keep your eyes out for the team’s next event, which will be in early 2020.