Virtual tastings are a really lovely way of trying a brand or range that you haven’t considered before. Sometimes smaller brands can be difficult to find in bars or restaurants, and buying full size products before you have even decided that you like them can be pretty costly. A tasting brings smaller measures to your door so you can try them out, meet the makers, and get a bit of information about the brand that you wouldn’t get anywhere else. I’ve tried a few during the last 12 months with The Liquorists being one of my favourites. I spotted that Stockport Gin were hosting a virtual tasting for charity so signed myself up to see what they are all about.
Stockport Gin is a fairly new spirit created by Paul and Cheryl in their garage in Compstall, Stockport. They have always loved gin and enjoyed trying different gins whilst they were in different places, so made the decision to make their own naming it after their hometown. They started with their original edition, which adds locally foraged pine needles from Etherow Park to the juniper and other botanicals before vapour infusing with orange and lemon for a smooth, citrus forward gin with a freshness from the pine.
Since the original edition was so popular, they have continued to add to their collection and the virtual tasting included the pink edition, twist of lime and pink grapefruit & pink peppercorn. Each tasting kit included paired mixers from tonic brand Double Dutch and the code to join the live broadcast of the tasting via Zoom.
The tasting started with an introduction to Stockport Gin, how it was created and the story of gin as a spirit. The Stockport Gin team were joined by some of the team from Mentell, a charity for adult men to get talking in a safe and confidential space. A donation from each sale has gone to Mentell and it was really interesting to hear about their charity and how they are helping men in the North West.
We then got cracking with the 4 expressions of Stockport Gin along with an explanation of how each is made, what tonic to pair with and the best garnish for each drink. I had such a lovely evening and I now know which of the Stockport Gins I would gravitate to first in a bar. If you see me, the pink edition is my first choice!
Keep your eyes on the Stockport Gin website for information of further tastings and events. If you want to try the gins I had during this tasting, they have a taster box for sale including a generous 50ml bottle of 4 of their bestselling gins including mixers for £30.
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