True OriGINS Festival to bring Scottish gin home

A new festival celebrating Scottish craft gin and showcasing 80 different gins from across the country is to be held nationwide this year.

With UK gin sales doubling in the last five years and Brits spending around £516 million on bottles of ‘mother’s ruin’ – the popularity of gin shows no sign of slowing.

It was a combination of these promising stats and a love for the quintessential British drink that inspired Banchory brothers Guy and Mungo Finlayson to bring the very best of local gin to consumers as well as creating their own bespoke gin brand, which will be launched at the festival.

The brothers run MFGF Events and organise the annual Banchory and Inverurie Beer Festivals, which have also featured gin in recent years.

Spearheaded by a passion to celebrate the very best in Scottish gin, based on quality and authenticity, the pair launched True OriGINs – the Scottish Gin Festival in London last year.

Following the huge success of the London event, which attracted over 4000 visitors over four days, the Finlayson brothers have announced plans for a series of festivals across Scotland, bringing the very best in Scottish gin back to its home.

The festivals, taking place in Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh and Glasgow promise a unique experience to discover the many gins that Scotland has to offer.

The OriGIN Festival founders, brothers Guy and Mungo Finlayson

Offering up to 80 gins sourced from across Scotland, each bottle and glass served has a story and every story has its own explanation. From drawing inspiration from childhood favourite flavours to what grows on the doorstep, the festival has it all. These will take place on:

February 15 and 16 at The Barn in Banchory, Aberdeenshire;

April 19 and 20 at Lochter in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire;

May 31 and June 1 at the Briggait in Glasgow;

March 29 and 30 at The Biscuit Factory in Edinburgh.

True OriGINS will feature eight different bars at the festival, split up into different regions of Scotland.

Included with each ticket is an exclusive True OriGINS glass and gin bible, allowing visitors to sample the variety of drinks on offer, whilst keeping them in the know about the history and background of each tipple.

Among the selection of gins will be the true Scottish hospitality that has made Scots famous across the globe. This includes fresh local food, some of which will be perfectly partnered with the gins, as well as local music acts to keep the party atmosphere going.

Backed by a wealth of industry experience in the drinks sector and a passion for knowing where the product is from, Guy, alongside brother Mungo, is thrilled to be bringing a taste of Scotland to gin lovers.

Guy said: ‘My passion for product provenance came from working in the wine and whisky industries.

‘When working with fine wines in France or Italy, locals are hugely proud of the produce that their communities are putting out. Telling visitors all about their local wines, who makes them and why they are so special. This attitude to provenance and product origin has stuck with me, and now when I shop, I look for these hidden stories, which for me helps elevates them above other mass-produced labels.

Four OriGIN Festival events are being lined up in 2019

‘Through our festivals, I want people to have passion in the country, learn about the products we make locally, discovering where things are from, how they are made and who makes them.’

As well as a wide and expansive selection of locally curated gins, the True OriGINS festivals will also launch Guy and Mungo’s very first gin, Autumn.

Distilled in Aberdeenshire, Autumn was first sampled at the inaugural True OriGINS festival in London but will officially launch to market in February at the Banchory festival.

Served with lots of ice, a double measure of gin and equal parts tonic water and finished with a slice of apple, the Finlayson brothers believe that the true delight in drinking the gin comes from the experience.

Guy explained: ‘A gin, to us, is an experience. Whilst others may add extravagant extras in the form of garnishes and flavoured tonics, we like to stay true to the classic gin taste. For us, the best experience is simply to add great company to enjoy the drink with. We are so proud of our Scottish gin and we are excited to bring our quality brand to the market place this spring.’

Tickets for the True OriGINS Festival are available HERE.