Before I continue I have a confession to make.

I don’t drink Gin.

It may surprise you to learn then that I attended the Gin Festival Saturday evening in Sheffield. What can I say I’m a fake, I’m a fraud , I’m the JD & coke lover  mingling with all these gin lovers .

Joking apart . I’m always up to try / experience new things and with over 100 gins showcasing , I thought I’d find at least one that would ‘tickle my fancy.’

Hey, several years ago I said the same about olives. Hated them with a passion – they were the work of the devil and all that. I now eat them like they’ve gone out of fashion.

I pray at the ‘Alter of the Olive’.

Plus it was chance to catch up with some friends , some who I had met through Instagram, a fellow blogger I’d never met before and Jo one of my regular ‘going out pals’

It was held in the City Hall Ball room which for anyone who partied in Sheffield during the late 90’s will remember it was the place Hot Pants was held on the last Saturday of the month.

Fabulous night, fantastic memories.

We’d dress up in our seventies gear and go boogie like our life depended on it.

My friend Annie (who had trouble walking in heels at the best of times, never mind after a drink ) broke her nose there, and took out a full podium of innocent dancers in the process.

Oh how we laughed after we’d straightened out her nose , and picked up lots of dazed and confused people.

I do have to say its the first thing I thought of as I entered.

Upon arrival we were handed a large Gin glass, pen, badge and book detailing every Gin available on the evening.

We got to take these home with us!

We were advised to buy tokens as non of the bars accepted cash (£5 per token/ per measure) , study the book , choose a gin, add a Fever-Tree mixer (free) and enjoy.

The room was split into 4 areas (A, B, C and D) each one selling a different variety of Gins.

Despite not knowing anything much about Gin the book was a god-send and very informative.

I have to admit that I choose a few Gins based on the bottle alone! Sikkim Fraise was sampled based purely on the beautiful pink bottle.

Irrational maybe … but quite a pleasant taste.

There was live music, food, a selfie machine and a photo booth.

I bloody love a photo-booth. Such fun.

Photo below courtesy of The Gin Festival.

There were also several Master Classes.

We attended the last class of the evening – The Brockmans Master Class.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect as we took the lift upstairs and were ushered into a little room which resembled a class room . No desks just row upon row of chairs.

To be honest it was quite nice to sit down. The only fault I have with the whole evening was there wasn’t enough seating.

So back to the master class itself.

We need not have worried the talk was fun, light hearted and informative. We had a shot of Brockmans on arrival , followed by a glass (or two) with mixer if we fancied it.

The guy who took the class (sorry I don’t remember his name) was passionate about Brockmans.

I love that, don’t you think passion creates passion.

He gave us the background story of Brockmans – which tastes like no other – bright, fresh and a-little fruity.

Guy Richie is a big fan apparently.

When he described it as a dirty, burlesque kinda gin  … I was sold. Maybe one of the reasons why their advert got banned in several countries.

I can honestly say , it was my favourite gin of the evening.

This may have been because I was getting accustomed to the taste, or I was a little merry. Either way I still preferred it with a lot of tonic (much to the dismay of the ginnies) but it is a drink I would definitely try again.

I’m actually contemplating buying a bottle.

Hell yes … you heard me correctly! (Move over Mr Olive we may have got a new contender here)

The BF loves the gin and as well as looking fabulous on my drinks shelf (sexy black bottle) I’m sure he would love it. I may even gain some Brownie points!

All in all the Gin Festival  was a fun evening, something a-bit different to the norm.

Who knew the world of  Gin consisted of more than just Hendricks, Gordons and Bombay Sapphire!

I’m not sure me and the Gin will ever be best friends but it was rather nice to get acquainted.

Until next time, Tracey x

• The festival moves to Burnley next weekend for ticket enquiries please click // HERE
• The photos in this post were taken on my mobile and aren’t as good as I would like. I didn’t however trust myself to take out my ‘big camera’ x