Hotel and distillery join to open gin school
With South Africans being internationally renowned winemakers, it was just a matter of time before those skills spread to other beverages. First came craft beer, but since then the local gin scene has exploded.
A collaboration between Protea Hotel by Marriott Mossel Bay and Inverroche Distillery in Still Bay has resulted in the opening of Mossel Bay’s first gin school.
The gin school is run in association with the hotel’s Café Gannet restaurant, with the school having transformed what was previously a conference room into a new venue with sophisticated ambience enabling patrons to sit bar style, lounge on Chesterfield sofas or be seated in a traditional restaurant surround.
“This new venue really ups the offerings of both the hotel and Mossel Bay as a whole, with visitors now having the opportunity to craft their own personalised bottle of gin,” Avukile Mabombo, group marketing manager for Marriott’s international regional office under which the hotel falls, said.
“They will also be able to sample gins from one of SA’s leading artisanal gin producers while at the same time learning more about local fynbos.”
Inverroche is known for producing signature gins which incorporate fynbos flavours.
To enhance the gin-making experience a fynbos garden has been established at the school so visitors can learn about these plants and harvest leaves to use in their gin creations.
The school also teaches guests about the history and origin of gin, along with Inverroche’s own story, as well as the distilling process and how to create original gin from scratch.
The venue is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm, and can accommodate from just one to 36 guests at a time.
A tutored gin pairing includes canapes and costs R180 a person. Time slots are 10.30am and 3pm, and the session lasts about an hour. Untutored tasting can be enjoyed at any time of the day at R70 a person.
The gin-making experience, where participants make their own signature bottle of gin to take home, is already proving popular. It includes an arrival cocktail and a tasting of four Inverroche gins, and costs R595 a person.
The duration of the session is 2½ hours.
Bookings for individuals can be made on the day, but larger groups must book in advance.
Gin and food pairings are also offered daily, incorporating everything from light canapes to traditional SA meals.
Built in 1846, the 38-room hotel on the town’s shoreline overlooks Santos Bay beach and the harbour, with the Outeniqua mountains as backdrop.
Once known as The Post Office Tree Manor Hotel, its stone walls and Mediterranean-style buildings form part of the Dias Museum complex, which – along with the Café Gannet seafood restaurant – is also home to a cocktail bar.
Mossel Bay opens its first gin school
Protea Hotel by Marriott and Inverroche Distillery join forces for new venture
Hotel and distillery join to open gin school
With South Africans being internationally renowned winemakers, it was just a matter of time before those skills spread to other beverages. First came craft beer, but since then the local gin scene has exploded.
A collaboration between Protea Hotel by Marriott Mossel Bay and Inverroche Distillery in Still Bay has resulted in the opening of Mossel Bay’s first gin school.
The gin school is run in association with the hotel’s Café Gannet restaurant, with the school having transformed what was previously a conference room into a new venue with sophisticated ambience enabling patrons to sit bar style, lounge on Chesterfield sofas or be seated in a traditional restaurant surround.
“This new venue really ups the offerings of both the hotel and Mossel Bay as a whole, with visitors now having the opportunity to craft their own personalised bottle of gin,” Avukile Mabombo, group marketing manager for Marriott’s international regional office under which the hotel falls, said.
“They will also be able to sample gins from one of SA’s leading artisanal gin producers while at the same time learning more about local fynbos.”
Inverroche is known for producing signature gins which incorporate fynbos flavours.
To enhance the gin-making experience a fynbos garden has been established at the school so visitors can learn about these plants and harvest leaves to use in their gin creations.
The school also teaches guests about the history and origin of gin, along with Inverroche’s own story, as well as the distilling process and how to create original gin from scratch.
The venue is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm, and can accommodate from just one to 36 guests at a time.
A tutored gin pairing includes canapes and costs R180 a person. Time slots are 10.30am and 3pm, and the session lasts about an hour. Untutored tasting can be enjoyed at any time of the day at R70 a person.
The gin-making experience, where participants make their own signature bottle of gin to take home, is already proving popular. It includes an arrival cocktail and a tasting of four Inverroche gins, and costs R595 a person.
The duration of the session is 2½ hours.
Bookings for individuals can be made on the day, but larger groups must book in advance.
Gin and food pairings are also offered daily, incorporating everything from light canapes to traditional SA meals.
Built in 1846, the 38-room hotel on the town’s shoreline overlooks Santos Bay beach and the harbour, with the Outeniqua mountains as backdrop.
Once known as The Post Office Tree Manor Hotel, its stone walls and Mediterranean-style buildings form part of the Dias Museum complex, which – along with the Café Gannet seafood restaurant – is also home to a cocktail bar.
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