Everyone’s favourite gin festival is back after a pandemic-induced year off! Junipalooza from Spirits Society brings together gin makers and fans and I couldn’t wait to get stuck in again at the events’ home in Tobacco Dock. This was my first year attending more than one session, taking on both the first session on Saturday and returning for my usual Sunday session too. Being able to pace things a bit more gently while getting used to seeing people in real life again was a big help and meant that I could take more time with each distiller, getting to know more about what they’re doing and why.
Junipalooza at the centre of the gin world
Despite travel restrictions making it hugely difficult for some international distilleries to attend, there was very much still a global feel to the event with the likes of Procera (Kenya), Canaima (Venezuela), 135 East (Japan) and Bobby’s (Netherlands) to name but a few of those making the complicated journey to take part. I hadn’t tried Procera’s blue and red dot gins before despite the incredible reputation that proceeds them, so I was very excited to get to taste their juniperus procera (African juniper)-based gins this time around. Both as gorgeous as I’d hoped, and that’s without mentioning the fantastic hand-blown glass bottles they come in. 135 East was a big hit for me too, full of delicious peppery notes from sansho pepper alongside fruity yuzu.
Gin discovery
There were plenty of gins that I was hunting down to try for the first time at Junipalooza. Some that have been around for a while, but others that had only launched in the last few months. As a supporter of International Scottish Gin Day (2 October 2021) I was very keen to get to try Glasgow’s Crossbill gin and hear more about what they’re doing, so it was brilliant to get to meet Stuart from the Crossbill team and finally taste their minimalist approach. They just have two botanicals in their dry gin: juniper and rosehips, which might sound simple but there’s far less room to hide if you don’t get the balance right. It’s a very smooth gin and is very drinkable neat. I was very privileged to get to taste their Crossbill 200 gin too, with the juniper being foraged from just one single specific bush it’s a gin that varies year-to-year and can only be made in exclusive quantities.
Other gins that were new to me included Tappers Gin and their delicious and complex Darkside gin, which was great to finally try and find out more about their distillery and range. Thunderflower were another excellent new distillery, having been introduced to them through a friend I knew I had to pay them a visit and wasn’t disappointed. Not only do they have an excellent range of gins (including their fantastic Fire Ship navy strength) I can’t not enjoy a stand that has some cheeky negronis on the go too.
I was really keen on Papillon from Dartmoor, particularly their Carabus gin which had a delicious mouthfeel from hazelnuts, and love their ethos with the sales supporting butterflies and beetles in the UK. There were also some great new additions in the newcomers room in the form of Jonomade gin with its New Zealand-influenced botanicals, and the already award-winning Monterray gin (IWSC Gold with 98 points). The newcomers room really is a great platform for some of the newest spirits to get noticed.
Familiar favourites
As well as finding your next favourite gin, Junipalooza is always a brilliant place to catch up with your favourite distilleries who create the spirits you love and keep coming back to. A couple of my favourites and definitely must-sees at Junipalooza 2021 were Gower (I couldn’t wait to try their new vermouth, and it made for a fantastic martini so couldn’t resist coming home with a bottle), and Mackintosh who have just been going from strength to strength since appearing in the newcomers area at the previous event, their navy strength is definitely among my favourites.
Salcombe are another distillery I’m a big fan of (read my blog about their Rose Sainte Marie gin) and couldn’t wait to explore their Voyager Series: collaborations with leading chefs to create gins to pair with their dishes – their latest is a tasty collaboration with Michelin-starred Chef Paul Ainsworth features oyster leaf, a vegan alternative to oysters, to provide the salinity to match seafood dishes. It’s always great to see what Greensand Ridge are up to as well as their work to really lead the way in distilling sustainability is backed up by some truly delicious and innovative spirits, including their incredible Raspberry Ghost.
Negroni week at Junipalooza
This year’s event fell in Negroni Week so it couldn’t not feature some sort of nod to the bitter Italian cocktail! It’s one of my absolute favourite cocktails and it was so lovely to feature a whole room curated by Negroni Club UK, my favourite negroni aficionados to hang out with.
Sacred and Asterley Bros were representing the brilliant growth and innovation of flavour from the UK. Putting their own bold British stamp on negronis, making their own delicious amaros, vermouths and gins. Having previously enjoyed both of their creations through Negroni Club events, it was great to chat through their ranges. I’m a big fan of the Schofield’s Dry vermouth from Asterley Bros, and the Sacred bottled negroni is a thing of beauty (Their gin, Rosehip Cup & English Spiced Vermouth).
VII Hills, compiling a ‘greatest hits’ of Italian botanicals and flavours, taking botanicals from all across Italy before being distilled in the north of the country. Having had the gin at previous years’ events we knew it was a big hit (particularly in a bloody mary) but we were completely taken aback by how good their negronis were, not to mention a little something super-special in the form of a coffee negroni! Even as someone who doesn’t drink coffee I couldn’t resist and a bottle of VII Hills promptly made its way into my shopping bag.
Adapting to changing times
While this year’s event was understandably smaller than previous iterations due to spacing out stands for distancing, and reduced ticket numbers to minimise crowding, it still had all the atmosphere. So much excitement to get stuck in with events like this again after so long. Saturday definitely felt busier than Sunday, which is what usually attracts me to the second day as you tend to get a bit more space and time with each distiller.
Alongside all the big new gin releases it was great to see real interest developing in the area of lower alcohol spirits, taking the flavour profiles you’d get in a London Dry gin but toning down the ABV. Hayman’s (whose ace distillery in Balham, South London is well worth a visit) had their Small Gin with them, which crams all their juniper punch into thimble-sized measures. Launching the same week as Junipalooza was Twenty, a light, juniper led spirit but with only 20% ABV. Made how you’d make a gin, but cut to a much lower alcohol level (so can’t be called gin). I can definitely see the appeal and think it’s going to be a space to watch out for as more brands look to low and no alcohol spirits.
What an incredible weekend! I’m so glad to have Junipalooza back and that piece of normality, meeting friends and distillers, that we’ve been missing for so long. Roll on 2022!
Take a look back at my previous Junipalooza blogs: Junipalooza 2019, Junipalooza 2018 and Junipalooza 2017.