Gin Festival comes to Crawley

Gin-lovers are in for a treat as the Great British Gin Festival stops off at Crawley next month.

Guests at the festival can experience a modern distillery from the comfort of the festival with drink in hand, thanks to a VR headset and amazing virtual reality distillery.

The event at the Hawth, in Crawley, on Saturday June 30, features an afternoon (1-5pm) and evening session (6-10pm) with tickets costing from £13.50 plus booking fee.

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Purchases can be made at EventBrite.com (direct link http://bit.ly//TGBGFCrawley).

The event will also be lined with trade stands from the finest gin producers, with talks about the history of gin, demonstrations of gin production and of course, the all-important cocktail demos!

Live entertainment will help create a special festival vibe, including a magician and a swing band, playing anything from Amy Winehouse to Frank Sinatra.

Bars at The Great British Gin Festival operate a ‘no cash’ system.

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Simply buy a drinks card on entry where £5 buys a single measure of gin, garnish and a mixer.

Cash and card payments are accepted at the drinks card stand.

The history of gin is a remarkable one, from its huge popularity in the 17th and early 18th century when it’s estimated that 1 in 4 private houses were distilling and selling gin.

‘Drunkenness of the common people’ became such a problem that new laws were introduced, leading to the Gin Riots of the 1730s.

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New laws made gin distilling a more respectable trade, but by the 1830s the rise of ‘Gin Palaces’ where the poor came to drink in salubrious surroundings (there were 5,000 of these in London by 1850) lead to the conclusion that gin was a societal problem, leading to further reforms.

Over time, gin production became more refined, the drink evolved and so began its ascent into high society.

And so to 2018, where gin remains as popular as ever, but now even more diverse, flavoursome and fun.

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