Brought to you by The Latin Quarter Gin Fest.
We are so ready for this.
What better way to kick off summer than with a few G&Ts? Or, more specifically, a festival full of G&Ts. It’s really the perfect way to get yourself in that summer-loving mood. And, oh so luckily for us, we only have to go as far as Galway to experience it.
That’s right, ladies and gents, Galways Latin Quarter Gin Festival is back this year and it’s sounding like it’s going to be the best year yet. Don’t take our word for it, though, have a look at all things gin-related that will be happening around the Latin Quarter from Thursday, 6 June – Sunday, 9 June and decide for yourself. (And yes, that’s four days people. Four wonderful days of gin tasting, cocktail making, and plenty of giveaways too. Hurrah!)
So what does a gin festival consist of, you may ask. Well, let us tell you.
The festival is centred around June 8, aka World Gin Day. Didn’t know this was a thing? Well, you do now. You’re welcome. The (long) weekend of the gin fest will be completely jammers with different gin-related activities.
Here are some of the things you can look forward to:
Master classes and tastings (obvs), gin specials and promotions, gin giveaways, gin cruises, gin afternoon tea (our idea of heaven), gin trails, food & gin pairings, gin cocktails & competitions, gin forages, new gin launches, and gin experientials. And that’s not even it. There’s loads more. You’ll be completely ginned-out by Sunday (if that’s even possible).
On Saturday (World Gin Day), the Gin Village will be returning to the Quays bar from 5-7pm. There will be a live DJ and loads of pop-up gin bars around the place. You can take a stroll through all of these and test out your new gin expertise (acquired after a day of gin tasting, of course).
The festival will be infiltrating all of the finest establishments in the Latin Quarter, but if you need a full list to check off, we are happy to oblige.
Here are the places taking part in Gin Fest:
1520, Busker Brownes Bar & Kirby’s Restaurant, Cava – Spanish Restaurant and Tapas Bar, Freeney’s Bar, Jurys Inn Galway, Martine’s Quay Street, Pálás & Merrow, Seven bar, Taaffes Bar, Bunch of Grapes, The Dáil Bar, The Dew Drop Inn, The Front Door Pub Galway, Tigh Neachtain, Kasbah Wine Bar, The King’s Head, The Liquor Lounge, The Quays Bar, The House Hotel & The Yard, and Tigh Nora Galway.
So, yeah, you’ll have LOADS of places to visit and keep you busy.
The whole focus of the festival is to encourage people to try a variety of gin and tonic brands that are available on the market, both Irish and international. You can learn about how gin is made, learn how to serve it, which garnishes to choose, and which tonics go best with each gin. We definitely anticipate throwing our own gin party when we get back just to show off all our new knowledge.
We suggest you grab your mates and get yourself down there for this perfect little weekend getaway. Lots of the activities are free so you’ll still have plenty to do if you’re a little strapped for cash (ideal). However, we will also be giving away a pair of VIP passes to the festival (plus an overnight stay) in the coming days, so keep your eyes peeled on the Her website for that competition.
Just think, this time next week you could be strolling around Galway, G&T in hand, sun shining, not a care in the world.
Sounds gincredible.
Brought to you by The Latin Quarter Gin Fest.
A full programme of events can be seen on the Latin Quarter Gin Fest website. For regular updates follow The Latin Quarter Galway on Instagram or Twitter, or email [email protected] for more details. When you’re there, don’t forget to use the hashtag #LQGinFest so everyone else knows what they’re missing out on.
