Gin Tasting on the Test (Hampshire)
8 people attending
22 places left
River Test: With a total length of 40 miles (64 km) and flowing through downland from its source near Ashe to its estuary at Southampton, the River Test is, in its upper reaches, a chalk stream and one of the finest in the land for fly fishing for trout.
Test Valley: The River Test cuts through a landscape of chalk at Broughton, Houghton and Stockbridge, but also sands and clays near Mottisfont. The former rock creates scenery of familiar broad rolling downs and open fields mostly arable in use, while the latter creates a more intimate landscape of copses and pastures.
Test Valley Gin: This is an London Dry Gin at 37.5 per cent, distilled by local entrepreneur Kate Griffin and infused with herbs sourced on the nearby Leckford Estate. Kate will be present to talk us through the samples, which are free, and offer us a £5 discount on bottles (£29.95 rather than £34.95). Website: http://www.testvalleygin.co.uk/. Review: http://www.silverfoxguide.com/spirits/test-valley-gin
Stockbridge: A small, pretty town developed in a linear way along what is now the A30 as it crosses the Test. Mostly Georgian, it has around twenty buildings listed at Grade II and II* which span the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Mottisfont: A pretty village of brick estate houses gathered around an Augustinian priory converted into a stately home. The gardens are famed for their spacious lawns and fragrant rose beds. We'll be following the Test Way around the back of the house and its gardens.
Food & drink
Lunch will be at about 14:00, so have a substantial breakfast and bring snacks.
We'll have lunch in the delightful courtyard garden of the Greyhound Inn in Stockbridge. Please see: http://thegreyhoundonthetest.co.uk/food-drink/. I'll take orders two weeks before the walk. You could instead have sandwiches on a bench in the town and then join us for the gin sampling in the pub.
After lunch we'll sample the gin, guided by the distiller Kate Griffin. The samples will be free, but there is the expectation that a few of us will buy some too, especially at the reduced price of £29.95 a bottle.