Gincredible Festival organisers Amy Kemeys, left, and Becks Clarke with radio host Will Johnston from the Hits Bay of Plenty
Gincredible Festival organisers Amy Kemeys, left, and Becks Clarke with radio host Will Johnston from the Hits Bay of Plenty
"Crate day for the sophisticated" is how one gin lover summed up the mood at this weekend's celebration of gin at the Gincredible festival at the Historic Village.
Investment manager Peter Tinholt and his wife Karina from Matua were among a 750 strong crowd of locals and visitors who flocked to the Historic Village on Saturday to sing, dance, and sip on an endless supply of gin cocktails from New Zealand's top gin makers.
Matua locals Peter and Karina Tinholt. Photo / Patrick Neale
Tinholt and fellow festival-goers were wowed with adventurous gin flavours and an array of cocktails from the classic gin and tonic, to pink gin, gin fizz and every single gin combo you could think about and even not think about, such as pineapple lump gin, frozen gin slushies, and botanical gins flavoured with local herbs and flowers.
"Gin is definitely in, it's what we have been drinking on the deck all summer. This event is the perfect way to discover more flavours, with some good friends and music in the mix too," said Tinholt who was hunting for more gin varieties to add to his gin cupboard.
"Juno from New Plymouth is my pick of the day so far."
Student nurse Hannah Spedding, far right, enjoying Gincredible with a group of friends and fellow nurses from Tauranga hospital. Photo / Patrick Neale
Student nurse Hannah Spedding, 27, from Otumoetai was with nine of her nursing colleagues from Tauranga hospital, who were also enjoying the sounds and the sips.
"I would never have thought of putting a pineapple lump in gin, but it works."
In the sold-out VIP area which came with goody bags, grazing platters and air-conditioned toilets, Tracey Rudduck Gudsell, 51, from Mount Maunganui,was drinking pink gin with friends from Auckland.
Rudduck-Gudsell had attended last year's inaugural festival with her late husband Phill Gudsell who died of last year of bowel cancer shortly after.
"We've come to have a toast to Phill. He and I always loved to have a gin and a chat and watch the ocean. Phill even made me a gin bar in the kitchen. I have a photo of us at the first Gincredible last year - such a happy time together. That was Phill's last public outing with me before he died. He would love it here today, there is such positive vibes and sense of community. He's here in spirit and so are we!"
Rudduck-Gudsell said she thought gin was a happy drink, undeserving of it's historical moniker as "mother's ruin."
"Someone joked to me that a gin festival should have a crying room, but that's the old image of gin, so last century! Today gin drinking is a real social experience, appreciating the craft of the artisan makers. Look around here, people look pretty happy to me."
Ashleigh Gee, owner of Miss Gee's bar in downtown Tauranga agreed gin was definitely the drink of the moment in New Zealand, following an international trend.
Gin expert cocktail maker Ryan Moriarty and Ashleigh Gee, owner of Miss Gee's in downtown Tauranga. Photo / Patrick Neale
"Our gin tasting sessions have been so popular that we are starting a gin club soon too. It is a very social drink, perfect for summer, but you can adapt the cocktail mix to suit the season, and your mood. You can have your go-to fave, or be constantly discovering a new experience."
Miss Gee's resident gin expert Ryan Moriarty, 31 from the western coast of Ireland conducted master classes in the perfect gin and tonic, as well as demonstrating his own creation, Back to Summer with Blush Rhubarb Gin, Elderflower Fever Tree Tonic, vanilla syrup, honey, fresh flowers and thyme.
"This is a summer cocktail that will transport you back to the Bay summer wherever you are in the world. Make it at home and your arms will get fit too from shaking it in the mixer. Tip for you though, do not put gin and carbonated water in the shaker, unless you want to take someone's head off."
There were also masterclasses from Indigenous, 1919 Distilling, Little Biddy Gin, and Dancing Sands Distillery covering topics like the distilling processes and the art of distilling.
Celebrations had kicked off Friday evening with a Valentine's Day six course degustation Dinner with the Distillers for 100 VIP guests who were served paired gin cocktails and gin samples.
Hits Bay of Plenty 95FM radio host Will Johnston led a Q and A session with the gin craftspeople who had come from all over New Zealand. With music from popular Bay singer Adam Mclean guests were treated to gourmet dishes created on site including salmon, venison and lamb.
Festival organisers Becks Clarke and Amy Kemeys said this year's festival was bigger than the inaugural one last year,
"We wanted to give people a more festival experience. There's more music and entertainment from lots of different bands, there's dancing on the village green and we added in the VIP area with premium seating and your own high end toilets." said Kemeys.
Clarke said the festival would be an annual event on the Bay festival calendar.
"It has the potential to grow even more. Our Gincredible team have been approached by many distillers in the past year, including a number of gin producers from overseas. But we do want to keep the boutique feel with a focus staying on the amazing New Zealand craftspeople."
Comey's' favourite tipple of the day was also the popular 1919 Pineapple lump gin, whereas Clarke was still experimenting.
"There's so much to choose from - the sun-kissed strawberry gin looks good. There are some amazing producers using beautiful botanicals and New Zealand natives infused into the gin and people have been raving about them."
Celebrations kicked off Friday evening with a degustation dinner with the distillers, with Will Johnston from the Hits Bay of Plenty 95FM
Many of the guests like Peter Tinholt and Rudduck-Gudsell left armed with bags of purchases from the distillers to add to their home craft gin collections said Clarke.
"People enjoy having a selection of boutique gins at home, and the festival takes people on a journey of discovery. Guests are also loving the packaging - the distillers go to so much effort not just with the drink but in designing gorgeous bottles and labels that you would definitely be proud to put on display -they are works of art."
Back to Summer cocktail, designed by gin guru Ryan Moriarty of Miss Gee's Tauranga. Photo / Patrick Neale
Gincredible continues today with "Sunday Gin Sessions" from 12pm to 4pm with more gin sampling, food, and chilled music from Something Like That and Sweetleaf trio.
More than 300 people have already snapped up tickets for today and the organisers say gate tickets are also available at the Historic Village.
