The Ginstitute
The Ginstitute
5
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Monday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Tuesday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Wednesday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Thursday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Friday
12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Saturday
11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
About
The Ginstitute provides a unique and unrivalled opportunity to better understand the true spirit of London. Patrons begin their spirituous journey in the UK's second smallest museum - The Ginstitute. Our Gin Instructor will take you through the long and frequently miserable, history of gin. From the drink's origin as a medicine, through the gin craze that gripped Britain for 200 years and onto the Golden Era of gin as a cocktail ingredient and finally how gin has taken it's position in the modern world. Once the History lesson is over, it's time to head upstairs to The Still Room, where Ginterns will test their senses with a tutored tasting and nosing of the key botanical ingredients of London Dry Gin, ready to create their own bespoke one-of-a-kind, unique and hopefully delicious gin. To mark their graduation, students will be presented with a full-size bottle of their own personal blend, the recipe for which will be kept on file for you to reorder as often as you need! Sessions need to be booked in advance.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Notting Hill
As West London's friskiest corner, Notting Hill more than manages to retain plenty of the same appeal that's brought the affluent area so much worldwide attention. In this attractive cobblestoned neighbourhood, a delectable variety of eateries, independent shops, galleries and street vendors offer a delightful window into how to live the good life in London, with each presenting visitors with an experience that's a little more idiosyncratic and endearing than the last. Travelers looking to forage for antiques should be sure to visit the Portobello Road Market on Saturdays, the largest antiques market in the United Kingdom.
How to get there
- Ladbroke Grove • 7 min walk
- Westbourne Park • 10 min walk
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2,058 within 10 kms
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
632 reviews
Excellent
572
Very good
47
Average
5
Poor
3
Terrible
5
ArtyMac
Hastings, UK19 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
What a tip night out! Saurav who took our class was epic. What a nice guy. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience - highly recommend. Sam Howe who made the gin was also totally brilliant! Whole evening was fantastic. Well worth it.
Written 24 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Moose3916
8 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
Saurav is awesome. The poor guy had a quite... merry... group. He was very knowledge, and guided us through our tastings choices expertly. Legend.
P.s. Phil is second rate compared to the amazing Saurav ;)
P.s. Phil is second rate compared to the amazing Saurav ;)
Written 24 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Kelly
5 contributions
Sep 2022
We loved this gin-making experience. It started with a history of gin while enjoying several gin cocktails, and then moving in to tasting and choosing the botanicals to use in making our own gin recipe. Saurav was so helpful ensuring we chose a good mixture without overdoing it. We learned so much but also tasted so much! It was really worth the money, as we had at least 4 cocktails at the event plus came home with 2 full bottles of gin, and a bottle of tonic. It was a really wonderful event!
Written 17 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Gavin E
Fleet, UK27 contributions
Sep 2022 • Couples
A fabulous evening for any Gin lover.. my wife and I enjoyed an evening learning the history of Gin whilst enjoying various Gins prepared by our fantastic host, historian and mixologist Sam.. the experience of making our own blend was great fun and a great learning experience.. highly recommend the experience.. now enjoying the Gin we made!!
Written 17 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Martin R
1 contribution
Aug 2022 • Couples
My wife and I went to the Ginstitute last week and had an absolute BLAST! We learned all about the history of Gin and went on to make our own. Our instructor, Sam, was a top bloke! He was smart, witty, and extremely knowledgeable, way better than Phil (according to my wife who'd been before).
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone remotely interested in drinking and distilling spirits.
Also, whatever you're paying Sam isn't enough 👌🏾👍🏾👏🏾
I would highly recommend this experience to anyone remotely interested in drinking and distilling spirits.
Also, whatever you're paying Sam isn't enough 👌🏾👍🏾👏🏾
Written 2 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Haidee S
1 contribution
Aug 2022
What a fantastic experience. Sam, our gin expert was knowledgeable and engaging and made the evening thoroughly enjoyable with his tales and anecdotes whilst serving us with a host of gins and cocktails as we discovered made our own. I would definitely recommend this to any gin lover!
Written 16 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lottie
1 contribution
Aug 2022 • Couples
Best gin experience out there. Worth every penny. Sam was our gin expert who was amazing, he was engaging when telling us the history of gin and his knowledge was incredible when making our own gins.
Would recommend this experience to any gin lover.
We also stayed at the hotel and ate at the restaurant and would recommend both.
Would recommend this experience to any gin lover.
We also stayed at the hotel and ate at the restaurant and would recommend both.
Written 8 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
PDH
High Wycombe, UK1 contribution
What a bloody great afternoon. Top class. Informative, interesting, excellent staff, and enough gin to send you off on The Underground with a big smile on your face.
Presentations 10/10. Best chemistry lesson ever. And, you get your own, bespoke, made by you, bottle of gin, plus a bottle of Portobello gin.
Presentations 10/10. Best chemistry lesson ever. And, you get your own, bespoke, made by you, bottle of gin, plus a bottle of Portobello gin.
Written 2 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
SRAON
Bucks, UK22 contributions
This was a birthday gift pre-Covid, so especially good to finally make it here.
The first session was relaxing and very informative about the history of gin, in particular the part it played in the social history of London. This talk, by Phil the Master Distiller, was well accompanied by some gin tipples. The second session was a chemistry-set style selection process for a range of distillates to concoct our very own named bottle of gin. This was good fun and aided by a small friendly international group of attendees and a pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable gin tutor Saurav. Everyone was getting very mellow as the afternoon progressed so one needs to arrive sober! Would highly recommend. As a couple we came home with four bottles of gin - two of our own composition and two Portobello Road 171. Hic!
The first session was relaxing and very informative about the history of gin, in particular the part it played in the social history of London. This talk, by Phil the Master Distiller, was well accompanied by some gin tipples. The second session was a chemistry-set style selection process for a range of distillates to concoct our very own named bottle of gin. This was good fun and aided by a small friendly international group of attendees and a pleasant, helpful and knowledgeable gin tutor Saurav. Everyone was getting very mellow as the afternoon progressed so one needs to arrive sober! Would highly recommend. As a couple we came home with four bottles of gin - two of our own composition and two Portobello Road 171. Hic!
Written 31 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Katie T
1 contribution
Jul 2022
A really fun and fascinating evening. Thank you to Saurav for being such a great instructor and so patient! I cannot wait to drink my own gin!
Written 17 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Liz C
Washington DC, DC12 contributions
Could you enjoy the tour/experience without drinking gin straight, eg mostly sticking to cocktails?
jeb1401
Perth, Australia41 contributions
Yes, the drinks they serve during the session are mixed. You need to sample the botanicals to see what you want to blend your bottle with. Once you have your own blend you then sample everyone else’s, you could skip this part or ask for some tonic to mix. It really was a fantastic experience.
Rahul P
Madrid, Spain60 contributions
I’ve booked an experience, but I’d like to eat beforehand. Is there restaurant on site?
Raymond F
80 contributions
Yes, on the second floor there is a Tapas style Resturant which is pretty good.
Definable eat something, you will be offered about 5 different gin drinks as you go through the history of gin; afterwards you and about a dozen or so other people will go in another room and flavor gin to take with you. You will have an opportunity to sample each other’s flavored gin. If you are a visitor and want to take the gin back to your home country, plan ahead and bring the appropriate packaging. You will also leave with a fifth of their gin as well. You will have a good time. Enjoy!!
pc-37
South East71 contributions
Does each guest make their own flavour of gin ? or is it one blend that everyone in the group gets to take home a bottle of ?
Karl W
Bournemouth, UK186 contributions
Each guest tastes 17 botanicals, and out of this you're advised to choose 6 (I think) - one dry, one spicy, one sweet and three others. Your own bottle of gin is made from these, but before sealing the bottle everyone gets to taste each other's, so that if someone's come up with a particular blend that you like, you can order a bottle of their blend.
Everyone in the room agreed that they preferred mine - which I'm sure was pure luck - but if you want to try it, be my guest. You can order a bottle of no. 29091. #
You leave with an individual bottle of your own concoction, plus a bottle of Portobello Gin. So my wife and I left with four bottles
blueandwhitehoops
reading, berkshire, UK877 contributions
We are booked in for the Gin experience on a Saturday afternoon how long does it last thank you
Karl W
Bournemouth, UK186 contributions
3 hours in total
blueandwhitehoops
reading, berkshire, UK877 contributions
Hi we are coming on a Saturday afternoon for the Gin Experience how long does it last please - thank you
Ian B
Milton Keynes, UK65 contributions
About 3 - 3,5 hours. Depends a bit on the interaction within the group.
lorrainem1957
Bidford-on-Avon, UK328 contributions
How much will it cost please
David B
Staffordshire, UK201 contributions
We paid £120 each, but you get 2 bottles of gin to take away and you get 4 gins during the experience
deeton
Burra South Australia67 contributions
Hi
When you say share the drinks - do you mean with your friend/partner or the entire group? I ask because another reviewer mentioned everyone tasting from a shared glass. I was thoroughly intending booking this until I read about that - it is just so unhygienic and would put me off the tour. Can you please clarify?
Many thanks
Alison M
London, UK172 contributions
Hi it is a shared glass throughout the whole group. They pass round each botanical for you to try....think there was 12 of us.
TalieD15
London, UK20 contributions
Hey there, does each person get to make their own gin, want to go with my boyfriend but was wondering if it's a group effort gin (meaning you might get one you don't like!) or if it's your own choice x
Softmint61
St. Neots, UK47 contributions
Yes each person has their own made and receives a bottle to take home
LenGraham
Crowthorne, UK21 contributions
Hi,
My wife and I are booked in to visit the Ginstitute on 22nd February 2017. What time does the restaurant start serving in the evening and is it advisable to book ? We are booked in for a 7.00pm tour.
thanks,
Len Graham
UK_Tad
UK49 contributions
Hi
I'm sorry I don't know what time the restaurant opens. We visited at 2pm so had lunch nearby. There are several places to eat nearby in Portabello road or give the Ginstitute a ring and they maybe able to help you. I hope you have a good time.
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The Ginstitute (London) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about The Ginstitute
- The Ginstitute is open:
- Sun - Sun 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
- Mon - Fri 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
- Sat - Sat 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM
- Hotels near The Ginstitute:
- (0.18 km) The Main House
- (0.07 km) Beautiful & Comfy two bedroom apartment in Notting Hill
- (0.13 km) The Distillery
- (0.29 km) Portobello Hotel
- (0.24 km) Portobello Gold
- Restaurants near The Ginstitute:
- (0.00 km) Portobello Star
- (0.01 km) Maison Puget French Bakeries
- (0.01 km) Clean Kitchen Notting Hill
- (0.03 km) Natoora Counter
- (0.03 km) 140 Portobello Wine & Art