The next Martini Club social will be on Monday 24 May at 8pm on Zoom.

This has been pushed back a week from the normally scheduled date of the 17th, as we expect to you in the bars, because that's where we'll be!

We've pushed the boat out for this one, as it's also Martini Club's first birthday! The theme for this is all about juniper, specifically about the terroir of juniper and how it affects gin. To demonstrate this, we've asked three exceptional gin brands that exemplify three completely different origins of juniper, so while the gins are all very different, they all share the common trait that juniper is unashamedly put front and centre.

The first gin is Never Never's Juniperfreak 2018. Juniperfreak uses a specific single-year vintage of Macedonian juniper. While we tried very hard to get the 2019 and/or 2020 vintages, they've yet to land in the UK due to the delay caused in Suez. However, Martini Club members means you'll also be the first people in the UK to know when these new editions come out! Sean Baxter will be dialling in from the distillery in South Australia, and we must be friendly - it'll be 5am there!

The second distillery is Crossbill and we have both of Crossbill's 100 and 200 gins. Both using just two botanicals - rose hip and locally foraged Scottish juniper. While the species of juniper is the same as Juniperfreak, being grown in Scotland and not Macedonia shows the effect of local growing conditions on juniper and the gin. In the case of 200, the juniper is collected every year from a single juniper plant which is at least 200 years old, so you can taste them side by side. You all know Stuart Caldow as he's a stalwart of both Negroni & Martini Club, but he'll be on hand to talk all about Crossbill.

Finally, Procera will be joining us with their Blue and Red Dot gins, using African juniperus procera, inclusive of their salts and a small extra sample of Procera juniper. This gin made in Kenya in beautiful hand-blown glass bottles makes use of the local juniper grown in Kenya to create a unique gin like no other on the market. Procera juniper is a different species of juniper to the common juniper used in other gins, and gives a much more earthy and nutty flavour that makes Procera gin unique. For Procera we will also be joined by Guy Brennan, Procera's owner and creator.

There are a total of 28 packs for sale, each having 5x 50ml samples of Juniperfreak 2018, Crossbill 100 & 200 and Procera Blue & Red Dot gin. We're super excited to be trying these exceptional gins side by side. Initially we'll talk through the brands and gins and tasting them, before opening up to a Q&A and then descending into our famous after party! The packs are £32 each for box of all 5 samples, with all fees and postage included.

We will be tasting the gins neat and in Martinis. These are all exceptional gins and they're all extremely versatile, and they'll be best served the way YOU like them, we're not prescribing recipes. However, we'll provide recipes ideas in the pack for you. We recommend the following vermouths to use for the Martinis:

Crossbill 100 & 200, Procera Blue Dot: Dry Martini with Sacred Dry
Procera Red Dot: Either Dry Martini with Sacred Dry or a Ford Cocktail with absinthe and Sacred Amber / Cocchi Americano
Juniperfreak: Either as 'Dirty as you Dare' (even going filthy with anchovies), or as a Martinez with Del Professore, Cocchi di Torino or Antica Formula.

We're delighted and really happy about our FIRST BIRTHDAY, and hope to see you all there on the 24th!