True ‘Craft Gins’ Put Under Spotlight at Festival

For the first time ever, Sessions Festival will be giving gin lovers the chance to experience three ‘true Scottish craft gins’ at one venue. The two-day gathering is Aberdeen City’s new outdoor craft beer, gin and music festival, taking place this weekend Friday 4 and Saturday 5 August, 2017.

The recent uncovering of the ‘grey’ area of Scottish gin provenance and questions over specific claims of Scottish brands have thrown the industry into the limelight. For the first time, three distilleries (LoneWolf, Arbikie and newly launched Twin River Distillery) will come together at the festival to educate gin lovers over the production process of true Scottish craft gin.

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Twin River Distillery brand ambassador, Ryan Rhodes explains: “There continues to be misconception about craft gin. Many of the most popular ‘Scottish craft gin’ brands buy grain neutral spirit, essentially vodka, from an unknown origin – often, outwith Scotland. It’s this spirit that’s then steeped in botanicals, juniper and coriander before it’s redistilled.

“Authentic craft distillers make their own grain neural spirit to then create the gin and it is this that creates real provenance for our products.”

Blair Bowman, author and Whisky consultant, recently wrote about the ‘great gin myth’ and the issues behind brands’ claims of Scottish heritage.

Ryan continued: “The whole concept behind Scottish craft gin is a grey area and we’re keen to demystify any misconceptions at Sessions, where festivalgoers will have the opportunity to sample three fantastic and authentic Scottish gins.”

A host of additional food and drink suppliers have also been added to the line-up for the festival, with a further 35 local and international gins on offer with tonics and mixers being provided by Bon Accord Soft Drinks, Summerhouse Drinks and Fevertree.

Also supplying drinks are local breweries Brewdog, Deeside Brewery, Fierce, Six Degrees North, Spey Valley and Windswept as well as some exclusive beers from Fallen, Magic Rock, Cloudwater and Big Drop Brewing co.
Street food vendors include, Angus & Oink, The Store, Burrito Cabeza, So On Fire BBQ, Melt, and a vegan offering from Glasgow-based Freddy & Hicks.

Sessions co-founder Wil Aitken said: “We’re delighted with the number of suppliers we’ve confirmed for Sessions. Interest in the festival has been fantastic, and initial feedback really positive. Ticket sales are going well and we’re confident that it’s going to be a fantastic couple of days.”

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