Gin lovers get in line, you won't want to miss this gin tasting treat!
Known widely as London's gin hotel , The Distillery at 186 Portobello Road in Notting Hill , is a gin haven housing more than 100 gins.
Spread over four floors, the venue features three hotel rooms, two restaurants and bars, a small gin museum and a shop.
Of course, as the name suggests, the venue also features a distillery, home to a 400-litre copper gin still, along with rooms for gin enthusiasts to learn everything they could ever want to know about the much-loved spirit.
The Distillery opened in December last year, down the road from the original bar, Portobello Star, located at 171 Portobello Road, which is where the name Portobello 171 comes from for their very own blend of gin which features botanicals such as lemon peel, nutmeg and of course, juniper.
Inspired by their gin blending course at Portobello Star, The Ginstitute was opened in The Distillery, offering a unique gin experience including gin tasting, a gin-powered lesson into the history of the spirit and even the opportunity to create your own blend of the drink.
I was invited along to grab a taste of their Sunday Lunch in the restaurant, before heading down for a three hour gin tasting experience.
If I wasn't an expert in everything gin on the way in, I certainly was when I emerged, albeit slightly more intoxicated.
The Sunday Roast
Upon studying the mouthwatering menu, I chose the Roast Pork and my companion went for the Roast Beef.
Both roast dinners were served with all of the necessary trimmings including carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese and a Yorkshire pudding, which easily took up a quarter of the plate.
The pork seemed to just melt in the mouth and the the trimmings were cooked to perfection, all washed down with - yes, you guessed it - a rather large glass of gin and tonic (it would have been rude not to).
Of course, on recommendation, we went for the Portobello Road No. 171 - the house gin and tonic - served with juniper berries, creating a very refreshing taste.
At £18.95 for the beef and £14.95 for the pork, it was quite pricey, but located at the heart of the bustling Portobello Road, what else can you expect?
The Ginstitute experience
For anyone wanting to learn about gin, this should be your first port of call.
The three hour sessions cost £110 per person and are held every day of the week, and you really do get your money's worth.
My companion and I were whisked back in time into the gin museum in the basement of The Distillery, welcomed with a tasty Tom Collins, made up of Portobello Road No. 171 gin, lemon juice and soda water, we immediately felt at home.
Decked out to replicate a historic gin palace (of which you will learn about during the session) the room was candle lit with a gin bar conveniently placed in front of cabinets filled with every gin you could possibly imagine.
Our gin expert was extremely informative, delving back to 700AD, teaching us about the importance of juniper berries, journeying through to the first gin and tonic in 1826 and into how gin is enjoyed in the present day.
Oh, and you don't need to worry about getting thirsty, we had already consumed three gin based beverages in that first hour of history.
With drinks in hand, we were then led past the impressive 400-litre copper gin still and split into two smaller groups of around seven, taking seats in a room set out like a lab.
This is when the experience got a little more hands on and the gin really did begin to flow.
We were taught about the art of distilling gin and what tasty botanicals we could use to create our own unique blend.
Made up of four layers including a juniper base, a citrus wave, a light dry note layer, topped off with pungent notes, we were let loose to taste, smell and choose from more than 30 options.
We were advised to add between three to six of our own botanicals, and after a long, gin infused debate, I settled on wormwood, pink grapefruit, lemongrass and, well, that would be telling.
After each of the blends were bottled up and personally named, we all enjoyed a taste of everyone's unique gin blend, by this point, I had lost track of how much gin we had actually consumed.
The treats did not end there, we left with a goody bag containing our personal blend of gin, alongside a premium 1724 tonic water and much to our delight, a bottle of the Portobello Road No. 171 gin.
Is it worth a visit?
100% yes.
Don't be put off by the price tag on the Ginstitute session, it really is value for money and alongside learning all about the interesting and varied history of gin, you can say you now have the expertise to create your very own blend of gin.
The only question will be whether to share it out or keep it all to yourself.
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