Inspired by the fact that UK gin sales have doubled in the last five years and that Brits spend around £516 million on bottles of ‘Mother’s Ruin’, Aberdeenshire brothers Guy and Mungo Finlayson launched True OriGINs in a bid to bring the very best of local gin to consumers.
The pair run MFGF Events and organise the annual Banchory and Inverurie Beer Festivals, which have also featured gin in recent years.
Following the success of the spirit at these events, coupled with the variety and quality of the gins on show, the brothers took the True OriGINs idea to London last year.
The event went on to be a huge success with over 4,000 visitors over four days, and now the Finlayson brothers have announced plans to run a series of festivals across Scotland.
This year, as well as bringing the festival home to Scotland, the Finlaysons will be showing off their own bespoke gin brand, which will feature at the first of these festivals in the capital.
Other events will be taking place in Banchory, Inverurie, Edinburgh and Glasgow promise a unique experience to discover 80 gins that Scotland has to offer.
Guy and Mungo Finlayson. Picture: True OriGINs
Taking place on 29 and 30 March at The Biscuit Factory, the True OriGINS event in Edinburgh will include 8 different bars at the festival, split up into different regions of Scotland.
Included with the ticket is an exclusive True OriGINS glass and gin bible, allowing guests to sample the variety of drinks on offer, whilst keeping you in the know about the history and background of each tipple.
Guests can also enjoy expert driven masterclasses from a range of distillers including Isle of Harris, Pickering Gin and Selkie Gin, as well as fresh local food from vendors including Pizza Geeks and Barnacles n Bones, and music from local acts to keep the party atmosphere going.
Backed by a wealth of industry experience in the drinks sector and a passion for knowing where the product is from, Guy, alongside brother Mungo, is thrilled to be bringing a taste of Scotland to gin lovers.
Guy said: “My passion for product provenance came from working in the wine and whisky industries.
“When working with fine wines in France or Italy, locals are hugely proud of the produce that their communities are putting out. Telling visitors all about their local wines, who makes them and why they are so special.
"This attitude to provenance and product origin has stuck with me, and now when I shop, I look for these hidden stories, which for me helps elevates them above other mass-produced labels.
“Through our festivals, I want people to have passion in the country, learn about the products we make locally, discovering where things are from, how they are made and who makes them.”
The True OriGINS festivals will also host the launch of Guy and Mungo’s very first gin, Autumn.
Distilled in Aberdeenshire, Autumn was first sampled at the inaugural True OriGINS festival in London and officially launched to market in February at the Banchory festival.
Served with lots of ice, a double measure of gin and equal parts tonic water and finished with a slice of apple, the Finlayson brothers believe that the true delight in drinking the gin comes from the experience.
Guy explained: “A gin, to us, is an experience. Whilst others may add extravagant extras in the form of garnishes and flavoured tonics, we like to stay true to the classic gin taste.
"For us, the best experience is simply to add great company to enjoy the drink with. We are so proud of our Scottish gin and we are excited to bring our quality brand to the market place this spring.”
