Review of Scottish Juniper Fest at Summerhall, Edinburgh

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie

Lots of  Gin and some tonic

The Scottish Juniper Festival returned to Summerhall last weekend for its second year.  With nearly 30 different types of gin on offer, this was heaven!

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glassgow foodie
Summerhall, Edinburgh

Summerhall is an amazing venue.  We had heard a lot about here but never managed to have the time to visit.  There are lots of nooks and crannies to explore.

Thankfully there were signs to show the way.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Gin!

We arrived just in time for a masterclass by Jody, the Brand Ambassador for Rock Rose Gin.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Jody, Brand Ambassador

After an outline of the history of Rock Rose Gin, and of course a neat sample.  We  tried their perfect serve.  A different approach for a perfect serve, by using rosemary as their highlighter for the gin.  Normally a taste is picked from the gin ingredients e.g citrus to enhance the taste. No rosemary in this gin.  What the rosemary did do was give the gin a very different aroma, with the oils wafting around the room after being singed by the burner (sadly not a bunsen burner from the lab!)

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
He’s a suave man
scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Rock Rose gin with Fevertree tonic and singed  rosemary

We swung into action, trying to catch up on lost time.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Flavouring botanicals from No3 Gin

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie

This was a crisp and very junipery gin.  Excllent neat and with tonic.  Would be ideal at a boozy picnic.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
This image reflects how we felt after the 60%!

Blackwoods Gin were showcasing their 2012 Vintage as well as their 60% gins.  The 60% certainly had a kick – the alcohol just disappeared off your lips and left a wow feeling.  The crowd around the table went quiet, in shock we think!

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Appreciative crowd at Blackwoods Gin Stall

Both gins were tasty neat as well as with tonic, Fentimanns rose lemonade was a popular choice.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Some retro music

We loved the vibe.  Retro, hand powered music, twinkly lights and it wasn’t filled to the brim so you could talk to producers and get to move around.

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Another room full of gin

We would be here all night writing about each and every gin.  So here are some we got to taste in picture form.

 

scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Daffy’s, Portobello Road, Jinzu and some great tonic
scottish juniper festival summerhall gin edinburgh glasgow foodie
Pickerings Gin – distilled at Summerhall

TL:DR

+ Gin!

+ Great vibe

+ Well worth the entrance fee

– Ran out of time to try all the gin and chat to everyone we wanted to 😔

Follow Scottish Juniper Festival on Facebook and Twitter and see you there next year!

emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

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