Over the past few years Australians have been drinking an unprecedented amount of gin – consumption of the juniper-based spirit grew by more than 32 per cent from 2017 to 2018. British mixer company Fever-Tree is harnessing that love of gin by bringing Sydney its first festival entirely devoted to the G&T. The three-day fiesta will happen in Centennial Park from September 27 to 29 – and its line-up has just been announced.
Gin drinkers will be able to try more than 100 types from 40 Australian and international distillers, including some never tasted before by the general public. Sydney distillery Archie Rose’s Inside + Outside gin will be available to try for the first time, as will Hendricks’s Midsummer Solstice gin and New Zealand’s Scapegrace Black gin. Two new Fever-Tree tonics, cucumber and clementine, will also be launched at the event.
Other distillers at the festival include locals Four Pillars, Adelaide Hills Distillery, Never Never Distilling Co, Melbourne Gin Co, Manly Spirit Co and Distillery Botanica. There will also be a clutch of international makers including Tanqueray, Hayman’s, Pinkster, Beefeater and Ki No Bi. If you aren’t a drinker but still want to join in the fun, Ceder’s non-alcoholic gin will be available, as will non-alcoholic spirits from Aussie brand Lyre’s.
If you love gin and want to expand your knowledge of the drink once known as “mother’s ruin”, there will be a bunch of masterclasses to turn you from casual gin drinker to juniper genius. Adelaide Hills Distillery will lead a sensory class on blending gin, and Eddie Brook of Brookie’s Gin will take students on a native-ingredient tasting journey, and show them how to match natives with their G&Ts.
Four Pillars Gin’s creative director James Irvine will teach attendees how to create three Friday-night-friendly drinks perfect for ringing in the weekend. And if you thought the only booze to match with cheese was wine, The Gin Queen will be there to make you think again.
It’s not all about the G&T, though. Chopper Reedz from New Zealand band Fat Freddy’s Drop will be DJing on Friday night, plus there will be plenty of food trucks from the likes of Nighthawk Diner, Taco Hawk and Agape Organic to keeps the gin sways at bay. If you prefer to consume nothing but gin-related food and drink at the festival, Four Pillars will be sizzling up sausages made with pork fed on spent botanicals from the gin-making process. Plus, Mr Goaty will be whipping up a G&T-infused gelato and Mr Black will be pouring coffee liqueur.
Tickets are $65 and include six mini G&Ts, entertainment, plus G&T discovery sessions and demonstrations.
The Fever-Tree Gin and Tonic Festival runs from September 27 to 29 at Centennial Park’s Rose Garden.