Gin
Gin festival attracts thousands
GinFest saw the Cholmondeley Arms welcome their 366th gin, meaning they can now offer customers a different gin every day of the year, even in a leap year.
The new spirit, Nelson’s Gin, came from Staffordshire and arrived in style on the back of local resident Phil Probin’s tractor, which was welcomed by hundreds of guests enjoying the pub's GinFest.
The festival saw distillers and curators join forces in a celebration of gin, as well as food and live music at the Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars pub.
Owner of the pub group Tim Bird said: “Each year the event is getting bigger and bigger and this year’s was the best by far. We had some amazing gins and novel ways of serving them as well as great music from local bands, and seeing our 366th gin arrive was spectacular.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Nelson’s Gin to our collection and intend to keep building on this as well as the gin festival in the coming years.”
Nelson’s Gin is the only gin from Staffordshire and is also stocked the pub’s sister site, the Fitzherbert Arms in Swynnerton. It is made from water which has been purified over a natural reed bed filtration system before going through a filtering system where it is scanned and tested before being used in the gin.
Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin opened the Cholmondeley Arms in 2011 with 40 gins and quickly gained a reputation for stocking a huge range of unusual gins.
Cheshire Cat Pubs and Bars was also established by Bird and McLaughlin in 2008, and the company now owns five pubs in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Dorset.
