London Libations


The  Beefeater Gin Distillery

Gin

The English love their G&Ts (and many also have a strange obsession with espresso martinis, according to Bumble profiles), and Beefeater Gin Distillery in London is sure to please! Personally, I'm not much of a drinker; however: when in London, do as the English do! I've certainly sampled a few different alcoholic beverages during my time in the UK. 

As with many things that are quintessentially "English", gin wasn't originally invented in the country but has origins as far back as 70 AD. If you'd like to learn more about the invention of gin and its growth in England, take a gander here. 



Nicknamed 'beef-eaters' because part of their wages were paid in beef, Beefeater Gin was named after the Yeoman Warders who served and protected the royals in the Tower of London. Part of the distillery tour starts with a self-guided walk through the history of gin in London with amazingly created exhibits that takes you throughout the centuries of its significance in the city. 


You then meet your guide who takes you through the gin-making process — including the 9 herbs that make up London's most famous Dry Gin. You get to walk through the actual distillery (which is the only Beefeater Gin distillery in the world!), and you will see the original (and still functional) distiller created by James Burrough, the founder of Beefeater Gin. At the end of the tour, you are able to sip and enjoy your very own G&T.  

Original Beefeater Gin distiller

Souvenirs I Bought

  1. Beefeater London Garden Gin (only available in London and, I think recently, Spain). This has the original 9 botanicals, with the added zest of lemon verbena and thyme. It has a lighter, fresher taste with less bitterness.  

  2. I also had the privilege of visiting the Plymouth Gin distillery, which was the original gin used in New York to create the first dry martini. I picked up a bottle of their Plymouth Fruit Cup gin, with its red tinge and berry flavour (not too sweet, but takes the edge off of the astringent quality that dry gins have). 

  3. In 2019, Leeds Castle celebrated its 900th anniversary by partnering with a local gin distillery in Kent to create 900 bottles of its exclusive Motte & Baillie Small Batch Gin, infused with plants on the castle grounds: pine, rosehip and sweet fig. This gin is slightly strong and tangy, with a pleasant pine aftertaste. 

Beer & Cider

I'm not much of a beer drinker, but did try some light beers. I do tend to lean towards fruity ones, so ciders are a given for me. 

Something that they tend to do over there is something "interesting" called a "shandy". It's basically half-beer and half-ginger ale or fruit cordial (typically blackcurrant or lime). 

Craft beers and breweries are plentiful over there, and so are the free houses and public (pub) houses. Historically, pubs were owned by a specific brewery (or a pub would even brew their own beer) and exclusively served its line of beers; whereas, a free house served a variety of different breweries' beers. Of course, this difference is non-existent now, and any 'exclusive' pubs would be named after the brewery, like BrewDog. 


Another cool fact relates to the signs or crests above any pub: during the days where many of the population was illiterate, they would use the pub signs as a guide to navigate their way around the streets. 

Cheers!

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