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Get a Gin Education at The Ginstitute in London

by The Foodie Travel Guide | Jul 7, 2015

The Ginstitute, Notting Hill, London

On London’s world famous Portobello Road and next to The Distillery, is The Ginstitute. Come here to gain a first class gin education but also to taste gin and to create your own personal recipe and bottle.

The Ginstitute at The Distillery on London's Portobello Road in Notting Hill

Make your own gin at The Ginstitute in London

Opened in 2011, and now in its shiny new home at The Distillery, The Ginstitute is firmly up there on the London gin map.

From its early inception as a gin museum and experimental space for making your own botanical, came the creation of Portobello Road 171 Gin which is now so popular, it’s distilled at the Thames Distillery in South West London.

The Ginstitute’s location in buzzy and bohemian Notting Hill, coupled with The Distillery’s cocktail bars, delicious tapas dishes and boutique hotel rooms, is a major draw for serious gin drinkers in the capital.

The Foodie Travel Guide

Have a G&T at The Ginstitute

Arrive at The Ginstitute for a three-hour session of gin history, tasting and experimentation, and you’ll be welcomed with a Tom Collins made using Portobello Road 171 Gin. The gin took home a Gold Medal from the 2014 San Francisco Spirit Awards. Not a bad start.

Get a Gin Education

Upstairs at The Ginstitute with your Tom Collins in your hand, your Gin Instructor will take you through the ups and downs of gin history before leading you to the Still Room where you’ll meet the very grandly named Copernicus The Second (no Berthas or Jennifers here). Copernicus is one of the original copper pot stills used to distill Portobello Road 171 Gin.

Exterior The Ginstitute Notting Hill London

The Distillery is London’s first gin hotel

Create Your Own Gin Recipe

Guided by your Gin Instructor, you’ll be introduced to the botanicals used to flavour gin before choosing your favourite ones to craft your own gin. Best of all, you go home with a full bottle of your personalised gin (they even keep the recipe in their database so that you can order it again).

Have a Gin Cocktail in The Resting Room

After your gin experience, relax next door at The Distillery where you’ll find The Resting Room, a cocktail bar serving small plates with an emphasis on British produce and cuisine. Upstairs, there’s a second bar, GinTonica. Here you can eat Spanish tapas and choose from over 100 different gins behind the bar. Don’t worry, if it all gets too much you can check in for the night. With three boutique rooms upstairs, The Distillery is London’s first gin hotel.

Tasting Notes

Portobello 171 Gin – The base spirit is distilled from English-grown wheat and flavoured with nine botanicals including juniper and orris root from Tuscany, lemon peel from Spain, bitter orange peels from Haiti or Morocco, nutmeg from Indonesia and cassia bark from South East Asia. Bottled at a punchy 42% ABV, this is a versatile gin.

You need to be 18 years old to visit The Ginstitute
Combine two local museums in one day. The Museum of Brands, Packaging & Advertising is just around the corner from The Ginstitute

Serve Portobello 171 gin with a slice of grapefruit in a G&T or use it for making a cocktail.

Mr Hendricks says, “Please check with The Ginstitute directly”.

How to Find The Ginstitute

Portobello Star, 186 Portobello Rd, London W11 1LA

The Ginstitute

The Foodie Travel Guide

Sally is the founder and editor of The Foodie Travel Guide. She travels around the UK and beyond in search of the best foodie days out, tasting experiences and delicious places to stay. She loves a glass of English sparkling wine, afternoon tea with friends and escaping London for gastronomic adventures.