This Saturday (11 June) is World Gin Day and we can’t think of a better way to welcome in the weekend than with a refreshing G&T. Quite frankly, it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it?
As you’d expect from a city blessed with brilliant places to eat and drink, there are plenty of places in Chester where you can join in the gin celebrations. And remember, it’s not just about G&Ts, there are some stellar gin-based cocktails to taste, too.
Let the weekend be’gin’ (see what we did there…).
Craft & Company
Known for their artisan gins, Craft & Company like to pull out the stops when it comes to celebrations. They toasted The Queen’s 70-year reign by creating the Jubilee Smash: a cocktail made up of berry gin, lemon juice, sugar, mint and blackberries. Ask them to make one for you so you too can feel like a queen (or king) for the day.
The interior is seriously stylish, too, and look out for the live music sessions. Search for Craft and Company Chester to find them on Facebook.
Find them:
24 Watergate Row North
CH1 2LD
Hotel Chocolat
You may be surprised to find that Hotel Chocolat sells gin, but believe us they do! As well as a premium cacao gin they sell gorgeous sounding gin liqueurs with fruity flavours like cherry, raspberry and cacao and mango, passion fruit and cacao. So if you’d rather drink in the peace and quiet of your own home, then you know where to go!
And you could always pair your bottle of gin with a box of Cocktails-to-Chill, premium chocolates with a zippy taste of passion fruit martini, mojito, raspberry daiquiri and lychee martini.
Find them:
8 Northgate Street
CH1 2HA
Palm Cocktail Bar & Eatery
With more than 40 drinks on the cocktail menu, you’ll be spoilt for choice at Palm, the independent cocktail bar with a pink facade that’s more than happy to stand out from the crowd. We love the sound of a Doll Kiss: Gordon’s pink gin, strawberry liquor, lemon juice, grenadine and cranberry juice. And we’re itching to try the Blue Violet: a heady mix of Tanqueray gin, limoncello, blue curacao liquor, coconut syrup and lemon juice. Nice.
Find them:
31 Watergate Street
CH1 2LB
The Botanist
Who fancies a Lily Pad Sour? This gin-based cocktail is made up of Roku gin, melon liqueur, apple juice and foam and looks as good as it sounds. Or there’s the equally exotic sounding Quince & Cardamon, which has Beefeater Gin at its heart, with added Everleaf Forest, apple and cardamom shrub, quince cordial and soda.
Read more: Godstall Lane is a hidden gem that’s just waiting to welcome you
Find them:
13 St Werburgh Street
CH1 2DY
Bar Lounge
Of course, they have a wide range of gins but if you’re after something a little more exotic head out to the terrace and watch the setting sun with the aptly-named gin-based cocktail, Sunset Sessions. Sip it and you’ll taste Beefeater blood orange gin, sweet vermouth, lemon and passion fruit.
Or opt for the zingy Rhamble, with a Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger gin at its core, mixed with strawberry, rhubarb and lemon. And if you really want to try something a little different, try the Pollen & Nectar with Tanqueray Seville gin, saffron, honey and citrus.
Find them:
75 Watergate Street
CH1 2LB
Liquor and Co
It calls itself a neighbouring social and drinking den, so an ideal place to relax with some gin delights on World Gin Day. For a taste of summer how about a Garden Thyme Fizz? It’s a cocktail that mixes elderflower, cucumber, thyme and prosecco with a base of Tanqueray gin.
They’ve just had a brand tasting for Shropshire-based Henstone Distillery so they’ll have some of its award-winning Rose, Navy and London Dry gin in stock. Ask for it by name!
Find them:
31 Watergate Street
CH1 2LE
Kuckoo
Want your gin served to the sounds of indie rock ‘n’ roll? Then head to Kuckoo. Bar staff will be more than happy to rustle up anything that takes your fancy – including a Wrecking Ball, a cocktail that evolved from the Kuckoo Umbongo. It uses a citrus lead gin with added blackberry and passion fruit liqueurs, rounded off with absinthe. Phew, that’s some concoction!
You can even sign up for a high-energy cocktail-making masterclass while you’re there and make one yourself at home!
Find them:
58 Watergate Street
CH1 2 LA
The Church
As you’ll gather from the name, The Church is a very special venue – an historic building where you can drink, eat and even dance. The two gin-based cocktails that caught our eye were the English Garden and the Bubblegum Sling. They use Aber Falls Welsh gin for the sling… topping up its rhubarb and ginger gin with blue curacao, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, bubblegum syrup, cranberry and apple juice. The English Garden has Opihr gin, St Germain, Teichenne apple, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white.
Try finding all those ingredients in your local supermarket… best left to The Church professionals, we think!
Find them:
Newgate Street
Ch1 1DE
Boujee
Ever tried a frozen cocktail? When the heat is on and you need to cool down quick, Boujee offer a Pink Lady, made up of Amber gin and grenadine slush. Or order a Blackberry Bramble (pictured) or the quirkily named – and unfrozen – I’ll Bring You Flowers: with a base of Tanqueray Royal Gin mixed with Licor 43, Briottet violet and lemonade. There’s a fully heated terrace, too, so you can indulge in a gin cocktail or two in comfort, alfresco.
Find them:
2 Pepper Street
CH1 1 DF
