Did you say Gin Lab? Where you can buy gin, taste gin, make your own gin, experiment with gin, make cocktails with gin, and taste more gin? Cheers to that!

The Cambridge Distillery was founded by Will and Lucy Lowe and was the very first place in the world to offer people the chance to tailor a gin to their own taste. A truly brilliant idea, that caught the wave of gin obsession that started a few years back and seems to still be going strong. The distillery makes their own wonderful gins  (every one an award winner) and partner with big names creating bespoke gins for the likes of British Airways. Anty gin – a collaboration with the Nordic Food Lab, is the first gin in the world to be made from insects! Every bottle has the essence of approximately 62 red wood ants, along with hand-foraged botanicals. It was named World’s Most Innovative Alcohol in the 2015 World Beverage Innovation Awards. If you’re not up for that one then one of the seasonal gins made from botanicals foraged in and around Cambridge and are truly delicious.

The distillery itself is in the lovely village of Grantchester  (with a great cafe too) where you can do walk-in tastings or booked masterclasses and experiences.  The lab and shop are on Green Steet in Cambridge centre. The Shop offers you the chance to blend your own gin with no appointment necessary, as well as stocking the entire portfolio of award-winning Cambridge Distillery products which make lovely gifts (for yourself?). In the Tasting Room you can choose from a variety of experiences – Taste it, Make It, Mix It (Isn’t that a Spice Girls lyric?). For the adventurous try the intriguing Molecular Experience – interactive molecular cocktail making using scientific methods.  Molecular martini anyone?