and on the 11th Day of Christmas...

You definitely know that I am a lover of the Gin... And what is a day closer to Christmas, without adding some Hope on Hopkins Gin to the list.

An artisanal distillery in the heart of Cape Town that prides itselfs on truly crafting its own spirits. Making their gin from scratch themselves, so that the consumers know exactly where all the carefully sourced ingredients come from. 

Using South African malted barley as the base, which is cooked & fermented over several days & then finally triple distilled to make the base neutral spirit for their London Dry & Salt River gins. Distilling on the 4th time allows the alcohol vapours to infuse through the selected botanicals.

The one that I liked most, is inspired by the flavours from the Mediterranean, a Gin made from a Triple Distelled Grape Spirit, the Hope on Hopkins Mediterranean makes the cut. Infused with olives, rosemary, basil, thyme, & cardamon with hints of citrus & juniper. (So more like the 'savoury' gin type.)

Wohoo... And Santa loves a G&T too! So today, you stand in line to win a Hope On Hopkins Hamper! Complete with a bottle of the Hope On Hopkins Mediterranean Gin & Pink Fitch & Leedes Tonic. 

How to enter:

1. Like As Seen By Lloyd & Hope on Hopkins on Facebook or Follow @Lloydi_Boy & @HopeOnHopkins on Twitter.

2. Repost the competition Post on Facebook or Retweet the competition Tweet on Twitter. Remember to include the #12DoCwithLloyd in your post/tweet.

3. Tag 2 friends in your post who are in for a Pink G&T.

NB. Remember, you have to include the #12DoCwithLloyd otherwise your entry is not valid & can not be counted.

Good Luck!

Wade Bales Cap Classique & Gin Affair

Right, so lets be honest with each other quick. Can you seriously think of a better way to start off the summer holiday other than sipping on the best bubbly in the land & testing out some of the most innovative craft gins?

I think not.

This is why I have some exciting news for you. Wade Bales Fine Wine & Spirits dropped me some news early this morning.

Imagine 50 of SA's premium MCC's.

Imagine more than 20 craft gins.

Imagine a rooftop bar & watching the sunset.

Well, on 25 & 26 November, you best get yourself to the Roof Top Terrace Bar, Southern Sun in Hyde Park. You will get to enjoy some MMC's to the likes of Graham Beck, Steenberg, Krone, Simonsig & many more.

Oh, and the gin. Lets not forget the gin. Some local producers will be present to share their knowledge & insight into why their gin making abilities are the best. 

Wade Bales emphasized that they want to showcase the best that SA has to offer & to recognise the world-class quality bubbly & gin that is produced locally. He also added: "This is the right time, the right place & the right people - and is going to be a celebration you don't want to miss!"

For those eager beavers. Until Monday, 30th of October, there are some early bird tickets available via Quicket at only R230 each. Thereafter they will be going for R290 each.

What this gets you is a complimentary champagne glass, UNLIMITED access to all MCC & Gin products, as well as 6 fresh oysters. (Sounds great doesn't it?) For those who are always hungry, the hotel has a great menu to feed any appetite. 

Saturday - 25 November: 3-7pm

Sunday - 26 November: 1-5pm

Remember to share your experiences online so that I can check up & see who joined in on the fun.

Twitter - @WadeBales

Instagram - @wade.bales

Facebook - Wade Bales Wine Society

...and DON'T forget the #BubblyGinAffair.

#MusgraveWorldGinDay

In celebration of all things Gin & since Gin is one of my favourite spirits to sip on to get me in good spirits. Did you know that World Gin Day has been up & running globally for 9 years now already? This year, 10 June it's happening again!

Good news for those those lovers of Local Homemade Gin, and even better for those of us that love Musgrave Gin. So a little birdy has dropped in & let me know that this year, Musgrave Gin is encouraging all gin-lovers to raise a glass (or 4) to the occasion & enjoy some Musgrave Gin in the comfort of their own homes or at one of the partner venues across the country. 

When you arrive at any of the below listed venues, all you need to do is ask for the Musgrave World Gin Day Special & you will be brought a specialty Musgrave12 Pink Gin or Musgrave11 Original drink.  

Cape Town:

- The Stack

- The Silo

- The Gin Bar

- Sundoo by Seelan

Durban:

- Chef's Table

- Delish Sisters

- 1904 Bistro Americaine

Jo'burg:

- Glenda's in Hyde Park

What you will be served...

The Roadhouse Gin Shake: Blackberry Jam, Cream, Musgrave12 Pink Gin & some Fizz.

The Hey Hunny: Musgrave11 shaken with a Honey & Nut syrup, with Lemon Juice & Bitters, finished off with a Soft Foam. 

Musgrave12 Signature Pink G & T: Double Rosewater infused Gin, topped with Barker & Quin Tonic, garnished with Pink Peppercorns & a sprig of Thyme.

Well naturally you know that there will always be something in it for you too. But only if you share your #MusgraveWorldGinDay experience with everyone of social media.

Oh, so on a side note. Simone Musgrave has brought us something rather cool. The world now can welcome #MusgraveMinis. Yes, that's right. Musgrave Gin now comes in miniature 50ml replica bottles. Perfect for traveling... (All I'm saying is #WatchThisSpace)

Okay, to get back to the competition. You stand a chance of winning 6 #MusgraveMinis if you share your experience using #MusgraveWorldGinDay, #WorldGinDaySA or #MusgraveMinis & tagging @MusgraveGin on Twitter or @Musgrave_Gin on Instagram. It's honestly that easy. 

#GordonsLegends

What is a Saturday without a bit of Gin? (pretty damn boring if you ask me...)

So I was legit pretty excited to be invited to join Gordon's Gin for their leGINdary #GordonsLegends event at the Copper Bar in Bryanston. (This is quite the cool venue, not cool as in cold, but cool as in epic as it was rather hot on this summer day & the views over JHB are definitely something to see.)

The concept, pretty simple. In order to create legendary moments & connections with other #GordonsLegends, each person would get a different armband at the door to start off with & then you would have to find someone else at the event, with the same armband as yours & then only would you be able to go to the bar & get your next drink. In this, you automatically start up a conversation with a random & make a new connection. 

By the end of the party, you should have at least tried all 6 the Gordon's Gin cocktails that were on offer. (The Bramble was definitely my favourite for the day)

The afternoon went down pretty well with lots of Gordon's Gin & Food specifically curated for us by the the #GordonsLegend "Foodie Influencer" JoziFoodWhore in collaboration with Vicky Crease catering. 

 

 

For some reason I totally forgot to actually snap up some proper pic of the other food. (I may have been that hungry that I got lost in the moment when it arrived. But it was all really good.) There were these Smoked Salmon Mini Bagels, which were to die for, oh, and a mixture of Gorgonzola & Pear in a Phyllo pastry pocket. Yum!

The truffles. The truffles. These were incredible. I may have had one of every flavour. (And before you judge, it was my cheat day, so no, I didn't feel guilty.)

I loved how there where photographer moving through the crowd snapping up pics as the event went on & we'd get sent a link via sms to download our pic immediately. 

What is a day like this, not shared with friends & other #GordonsLegends?

All in All. This was a leGINdary day out. I'm hoping to be a #GordonsLegend at the next party.

Check out the #GordonsLegends on social media to see what else went down.

Gin & Tonic Festival

#PassTheGin
(that's my thing when it comes to having a good G&T with my friends)

So the next best thing on the market and the latest bandwagon that everyone seems to be getting in on, is gin. Small batch & Artisanal Gin. And what better way for Pretoria to taste, swirl & celebrate the fastest growing spirit category in the world than at the Gin & Tonic Festival. 

The festival that will be featuring some of the country's most exciting local gin distilleries as well as some of the more well-known international gin names will be taking place in the Tshwane CBD on Saturday, 5 November at the new and trendy 012 Central Venue.

What better way to enjoy a good G&T than tantalising your taste buds with some artisanal food that has been expertly paired with various of the G&T cocktails whilst taking the opportunity to chat to mixologists and ginsmiths to learn about what goes into making their unique G&T cocktails and to hear more about their "Gin Story."

The Festival kicks off at 11 AM and will be going on all day until 7 PM, with some of the country's top local artists (you can check in with me later to find the line-up, or keep your eye on the Facebook page) with a dedicated music and entertainment stage to keep you entertained. Or you can choose to take a chance in preparing your very own cocktails and even get to see the best barmen in the local industry compete head to head in a mixology competition. 

Now we all know that everyone loves getting a Goodie Bag. And guess what. At this event, everyone gets one, which includes a Gin Booklet, a branded Gin & Tonic Festival glass and various promotional material from local distilleries. (There may even be a small surprise in there too.)

Tickets are limited. (And that is always better, I mean, it's not at all pleasant when you are at an event and you need to queue for ages just to get a taste of something. So "small & personal" is what is going to make this day a hit.)

If you are very eager to get your tickets (like you should be), you can get in on the "Early Bird" ticket sales now! Visit Nutickets Now.

Early Bird - R 125.00

Regular - R 155.00

(Which means, you're saving R30.00 which you can use towards catching a Zebra Cab to the event)

If you are still skeptical about it, check out the Gin & Tonic Festival that happened in Joburg earlier this year here.

For any more information, then just go find them on Facebook - Gin & Tonic Festival