Coming soon to the heart of Winchester is a unique place to learn, play and create. The Blend Academy brings you the opportunity to concoct a gin tailor-made to your tastes. The new venture by Paul Bowler, Head Distiller and Founder of Winchester Distillery, will officially open its doors this Autumn on Monday 1st October.
Located just off Winchester’s picturesque High Street, the Blending Room, home to The Blend Academy, will hold a comprehensive library of over 100 distillates. Along with juniper berries, a wide array of fruits, flowers, herbs and roots have been used to create this comprehensive aromatic spirit selection, from which academy blenders can choose their favourites to make their own unique gin.
Knowledgeable hosts will welcome you on arrival and will be on hand throughout the three-hour experience to help provide guidance. To start with you’ll learn a brief history of gin, this will be followed by an introduction to the most popular gin botanicals and some tips on how to create a delicious balanced gin, then it’s over to you to have fun, experiment and get creative.
Each recipe will be kept in The Blend Academy records so that after your gin making experience, additional bottles can be purchased via the website at any time. This way you can ensure you always have a bottle of 'made by you' gin to hand to regale family and friends with anecdotes about your experience over a G&T!
Each Blend Academy experience costs £120 and includes a 70cl bottle of your own gin to take home. Golden tickets are available to purchase now for £90 at www.blendacademy.co.uk.
A micro-distillery based in Winchester creating a number of gin, including Twisted Nose, created using Hampshire watercress.