The Ginstitute

The Ginstitute is the most social of experiences. Not only will you meet our "Ginstructors", a friendly crew of bon vivants and cocktail craftsmen, you'll also share your day with new enthusiasts and incredible new drinks!

Enthused by a desire to learn and discover, taste and savour, the history of gin... we welcome guests from around the globe. Our basement retreat on the world famous Portobello Road is an intimate setting where we delight in delivering the ultimate gin experience. For the perfect gift for your gin loving friend vouchers are now available to buy online.

Splice the mainbrace! ⚓
Introducing Portobello Road Gin Navy Strength.
Bottled at a punchy 57.1% and seasoned with English sea salt, it is designed with cocktail creation and mixability in mind.
... And what's more, a percentage of proceeds will go to ocean welfare charities. So you have the satisfaction that every sip is supporting a vital cause!
Head to their website to buy a bottle from the very first batch of Portobello Road Gin Navy Strength
http://bit.ly/2O1oHKT
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We are saddened to hear the news that Gin Festival has gone into administration today leaving 20,000 ticket holders disappointed and out of pocket.
Here at The Ginstitute we hate to see any gin fan disappointed and so we would like to offer ticket holders a £15 discount off our Ginstitute experience, which we hope will go some way to raising spirits after today’s sad news.
For those who are unfamiliar with our experience head over to our website for more details (www.theginstitute.com) for more details and we will be post back here on Monday on how you can redeem the offer (We still need to work out the precise logistics, but we are pretty sure after a gin or two we will figure it out!)

Calling all curious diners...
Join us for our new immersive storytelling dinners. From James Bond to the lavish gastronomic lifestyles of the Royal family past and present. Read Fabric Magazine's review below
Book you space here >>> http://bit.ly/2Ay6FvB

Feast like a king or queen at our brand new immersive dining experience: 'By Royal Appointment'
Join us for a decadent 5 course feast of food and drink inspired by the lavish gastronomic lifestyle of the royal family past and present; while our resident raconteurs regale amusing anecdotes and tales of their regal lifestyles.
Discover more here >>> http://bit.ly/2Ay6FvB

Exciting news!

"The whole experience definitely achieves its goals. It’s educational, fun, and every guest we saw left with a smile on their face."
Thank you to Verdict for their great review of our new immersive dining experience, The Distillery Presents...

Calling all curious diners!
Have you discovered the new immersive dining experience created by the same team behind The Ginstitute?
The Distillery Presents... is a gastronomic adventure, each telling a different story ranging from James Bond to a five century time travel adventure.
... Discover more here >>> http://bit.ly/2Ay6FvB
See More

Happy Birthday to our home The Distillery. Make sure you enter their great competition to win two tickets to make your own gin and a meal for two in GinTonica!

Did you know there are 67 different varieties of juniper? Here at the Ginstitute we use Juniperus Communis, the most popular. Steeping the Juniper for 24 hours allows us to extract as much flavour as possible, making sure it's ready for the sessions!

busy day distilling today in these soaring temperatures! get your institutes booked in guys to see what we've been distilling! #summerisback #distilling #theginstitute

fabulous throwback video of portobello road gin's creator and the creator of the ornate glassware you'll find up in the ginstitute!

Did you know distillation has a long and chequered history over on the Emerald Isle? For over 1,000 years spirits have been distilled in Ireland, and in fact the name of Poitìn ( a traditional Irish moonshine ) derives from the Gaelic for 'little pot'- referencing the pot in which the liquor was distilled. Here's a video showing how the Poitìn is made, and previous visitors to the Ginstitute may feel that the 'Little Pot' doesn't look a million miles off our very own Copernicus II ! Happy Saint Patrick's Day one and all! * not all Poitìn is illegal nowadays* http://youtu.be/Pncgd8812nA

What's not to like? More gins than you can shake a stick at, vibey location, friendly knowledgeable staff. A must for gin lovers living in or visiting London.

What an amazing place !!! Such good fun!!

Staff just amazing as was the whole experience highly recommend it xx

What a fab experience. Jack was brilliant! Just the right balance of humour and knowledge and such passion! Great fun making our own gin. Great tapas in the restaurant afterwards and first rate accommodation. Can't recommend it highly enough.

We went yesterday for the Gin Experience. Wow, what a great day. Other friends had been before so we sort of knew what to expect, we had a brilliant time. Would absolutely advise people to carb-load before you go in. Don’t think I’ve ever had so much gin in 3 hours! The history of Gin given to us by Codi was very interesting but the next 2 hours were the best; tasting & blending. I’d certainly recommend this for Gin lovers. Enjoy 🍸

We had a lovely meal of tapas, where staff were friendly and helpful, followed by a 3 hour gin experience. We learned the history of gin had a Tom Collins, 2 G&Ts and a martini before learning about and tasting the botanicals that make the flavour in gin. We then chose our own to make a unique individual bottle of gin each to take home. We got a bottle of portobello gin too. A fantastic evening was had by all. A must for all gin lovers. We also stayed on site at the Distillery. So nice not to have to go anywhere after the experience.

Took my boyfriend for a special birthday. We had a really fun and informative afternoon with lots of lovely gin. I would thoroughly recommend this experience.

Spent yesterday afternoon at The Ginstitute on my a'gin' birthday and created my very own 'Celebration Triple Twenty' Gin. Thank you to all involved, it was fabulous and great fun - cheers!!

Spent an absolutely fantastic afternoon- started in Gin Tonica with a superb lunch and G & T from the most amazing choice of gin ever. Then down to the Gin Parlour for a history lesson like no other.

Fantastic experience - powered by Tom Collins and friends !!

And I got to make my own gin from the array of botanical and aromatics, mix as you wish.

Pink peppercorn, blood orange,, camomile - who knew!! � �

To be highly recommended

Seems expensive but really worth it. What a fantastic experience. The gin experts were superb and my own personal gin (which is a winner) is on file for whenever I fancy some more. Highly recommend.

My partner surprised me with the Gin Experience for my birthday and what a treat it was! The guys here really know their stuff and the history was so interesting, who’d of thought! You come away with 2 bottles of gin after been tanked up with several g&t’s throughout the whole experience. Thank you!

My husband surprised me last week with the Gin Experience for my birthday and it was fab! Really interesting to hear more about the history of gin but we also appreciated the gnts and martini they gave us during the event. Then the tasting itself was really interesting and I now have an awesome blend of my own (if I say so myself!) Add in the goody bag and we came home 4 bottles heavier. Actually he then took me to a posh restaurant, slightly sozzled. Highly recommended for all gin aficionados everywhere, and an excellent gift. Thanks guys!

Loved it, great food, lovely gin and fab service!!

It was my first visit with two good friends and a fantastically organised and fun afternoon of tasting, learning, creating gin. The staff from bar to classroom were very well informed and the venue itself was outstanding. We were also lucky enough to grab a table (at last minute) prior to the Experience upstairs and sample some nibbles from the bar which were delicious, accompanied by flavoursome gins! Can’t wait to show off my very own blend of gin with some amazing botanicals!

If you are Gin lover then it’s well worth it. Went with friends and we had a fantastic day 😊👍🍸

I spent two nights at The Distillery and participated in both events (the cocktail course and the Gin Experience). Everything was amazing, the room was cozy and lovely in general. The staff, especially Jack, Patrick and Sonny were very good at explaining all the important stuff regarding Gin, mixing cocktails and helping you blend your own personal Gin. The atmosphere of the whole location is just awesome, the Gintonica is a nice, relaxed spot to have a drink or two or taste some of the Gins created at The Distillery (highly recommend the Butter Gin).

Customer Service is a big plus of The Distillery. There was some noise in front of my room (which I didn't notice and it didn't bother me) due to some sort of event taking place and I was treated to two awesome Gin Tonics on the house. In general, one of the best customer service experiences I've ever had!



Thank you all very much for the great experience. I will definitely recommend this place to everyone and hopefully I will return someday and create another tasty Gin.

I got two tickets for ' the experience ' for Christmas. My boyfriend got this for me as I'm a gin fanatic and obsessed with botanicals , and all the old ways of using them for medicine , drinks , perfume etc . I was super exited , but had no idea what to expect.

Yesterday we finally managed to make time to go, and we're so glad we did!



We listened to the instructions and had a huge and heavy dinner before we went , and I can only recommend you do the same ;)



Our host was Patrick , who's a professional distiller and a comedian at heart �

We both agreed that Patrick played a huge role in this evening's success. In the first part of the experience we and the 6 other participants were sat in a dark and elegant "learning room" , which was designed to give you that classic old bar feel. We were served the first of many delicious gin&tonics there , and then enjoyed one hour of history lesson. It was super informative , very very interesting, and delivered by Patrick in a way that was very entertaining .

For the next part all 8 of us sat down at one table in the room next door , and were taught about the different botanicals , where they came from , what they're used for etc . We got to touch and taste the dry botanicals , and sip the pure spirits made of them . Long story short , to me it was heaven .

After having tried and understood the function of each botanical in a Gin , we got to create our own bottle of Gin from our favourites.



The whole 3 hour experience is very well thought through and perfectly organized . The ambience is beautiful and classy , and all their staff is super friendly .

We loved Patrick , and recommend the experience with him 100%



All in all it was the perfect gift , we left very happy , in a good mood and rather drunk �



Will recommend to all our friends !



Thanks !

Had a great 3 hours learning about the history and origins of gin, culminating in lots of yummy tasting and creating my own bottle ‘Two Malamutes’. Thanks to our excellent host Corey for a great afternoon

Had a fantastic time at The Ginsitute with 2 really great friends. Well organised and Jake was really knowledgeable on not only the history or gin but the distilling process as well. Would highly recommend this as a fun way to spend a few hours

Had a fantastic 3hr experience, starting with Sophie taking us through gin history whilst we enjoyed drinking it. Then Sonny told us all about the different botanicals and helped us blend our own bottles. This part soon turned a tad rowdy as the gin flowed and then we checked out everyone’s blend. Eric had mixed the botanicals for us and we left with the best party bag ever-our own blended bottle, a bottle of Portobello Road gin & gin magazine. Worth every penny 🍸

Had a fabulous afternoon and evening . My husband enjoyed the experience making his own gin. We had a great meal in Gintonica and stayed the night at the Distillery. Lovely staff, great service. Highly recommended.

Great, excellent staff really good fun.

Great early evening experience with my hubby. ( He is the gin lover, I hate it) However it was fascinating to learn about the history and I really enjoyed the Tom Collins. Pat was excellent and amazingly descriptive when describing the different botanicals. I had a great time and needless to say the husband is very happy with his 4 bottle takeaway!! Would highly recommend the experience and the tapas were fab .

Fun place to learn the origin and history of Gin thru the ages whilst sampling and finally making our own unique Gin. With our knowledgeable mentor Patrick guiding our enthusiastic group we had the best time. Thank you Patrick!

From start to finish, the Gin experience and masterclass were fantastic, well lead and best of all, included plenty of gin.

Fantastic!! What a way to spend 3 hours fun and full of gin!! Well worth a trip down from Leeds. Thanks guys it was amazing!!

Fab place in a great area of London. Fun and interesting, generous amount of gin tasting so eat before you go! May seem expensive but was quite a unique experience and we happily came away with our 2 bottles of gin each. Would really recommend it! Wasn’t a gin fan now I am!

Did the distillery tour. It was a fantastic three hours full of insight into the history of gin and plenty of cocktails. Then a better understanding of the flavours and botanicals used in gin production followed by a chance to use this to blend your own gin to take home. Awesome! Jake who did our tour was great. Highly recommend. Good value for money

Brilliant, I was surprised when my husband took me to the ginstitute last weekend as a birthday present. It was excellent. The history was really interesting and presented well, with lots of cocktails to help � The making of our own gin was perfect, and the end result very tasty. I want to go every year �

Brilliant experience, very much worth the money. First part being the history of gin and several different gin based drinks. Second part tasting 57 per cent proof botanicals and blending your own unique gin then tasting everyone’s result. At the end you walk (!) away with a bottle of Portobello gin and a bottle of your own blend.



Highly recommended.

Brilliant afternoon and very informative not just a tour of a gin still. Good fun had by all and 2 bottles if gin to take home in addition to the drinks provided and tasters. Excellent!

Big thanks to Jake for a great night last night. Took my dad along for his birthday and we both really enjoyed it. If you like gin, there is no better place to spend an evening!

Absolutely fantastic afternoon. Enjoyed every minute if it. Well done to our host Jack - very knowledgeable and professional �

Absolutely amazing place. Had such a blast making my gin and learning loads. Stay the night as well. Great staff as will recommend this to any gin lover.

A must do for any lover of Gin. We attended the 3 hr Gin experience, starting off with a great insight into the history of gin, these guys really know their stuff. Absolutely fascinating and accompanied by a few gin cocktails you can't go wrong.

Then came the gin making - tasting the various botanicals choosing your blend and and getting the flavours, balance and subtle banknotes just right. The moment of truth, does celary seeds, pink peppercorn, lemon grass, lime and coriander make the perfect gin...... not a bad job if I do say so myself.

This place is great, can't recommended this place highly enough.

A great place to spend an afternoon. Would highly recommend to any gin lovers!

5* plus!

Fantastic evening, such fun.

Cody our host was so knowledgeable about history if Gin, started with a Tom Collins, followed by several other large G n Ts.

Lots of laughs and created our own blend of gin to bring home. Totally fabulous!!

A must for all gin lovers..

Want to do it all again.

😊😊🍸🍸

Very entertaining afternoon filled with lots of information on gin and lots of gin!!

This was a load of fun. Have been wanting to do for a while. It isn’t cheap but you do get quite a few gin drinks throughout the session. Loved making my own Gin. Staff were fantastic. The only disappointing bit was only getting a 50cl bottle of Portobello Road Gin. It should have been a 70cl bottle. I know how much that retails for!

This is a nice place to stop for a gin cocktail on a Saturday, while roaming the marketplace on Portobello Rd. Gin drinkers should go to the second floor bar. Cheers!

What's not to like? More gins than you can shake a stick at, vibey location, friendly knowledgeable staff. A must for gin lovers living in or visiting London.

What an amazing place !!! Such good fun!!

Staff just amazing as was the whole experience highly recommend it xx

What a fab experience. Jack was brilliant! Just the right balance of humour and knowledge and such passion! Great fun making our own gin. Great tapas in the restaurant afterwards and first rate accommodation. Can't recommend it highly enough.

We went yesterday for the Gin Experience. Wow, what a great day. Other friends had been before so we sort of knew what to expect, we had a brilliant time. Would absolutely advise people to carb-load before you go in. Don’t think I’ve ever had so much gin in 3 hours! The history of Gin given to us by Codi was very interesting but the next 2 hours were the best; tasting & blending. I’d certainly recommend this for Gin lovers. Enjoy 🍸

We had a lovely meal of tapas, where staff were friendly and helpful, followed by a 3 hour gin experience. We learned the history of gin had a Tom Collins, 2 G&Ts and a martini before learning about and tasting the botanicals that make the flavour in gin. We then chose our own to make a unique individual bottle of gin each to take home. We got a bottle of portobello gin too. A fantastic evening was had by all. A must for all gin lovers. We also stayed on site at the Distillery. So nice not to have to go anywhere after the experience.

Took my boyfriend for a special birthday. We had a really fun and informative afternoon with lots of lovely gin. I would thoroughly recommend this experience.

Spent yesterday afternoon at The Ginstitute on my a'gin' birthday and created my very own 'Celebration Triple Twenty' Gin. Thank you to all involved, it was fabulous and great fun - cheers!!

Spent an absolutely fantastic afternoon- started in Gin Tonica with a superb lunch and G & T from the most amazing choice of gin ever. Then down to the Gin Parlour for a history lesson like no other.

Fantastic experience - powered by Tom Collins and friends !!

And I got to make my own gin from the array of botanical and aromatics, mix as you wish.

Pink peppercorn, blood orange,, camomile - who knew!! � �

To be highly recommended

Seems expensive but really worth it. What a fantastic experience. The gin experts were superb and my own personal gin (which is a winner) is on file for whenever I fancy some more. Highly recommend.

My partner surprised me with the Gin Experience for my birthday and what a treat it was! The guys here really know their stuff and the history was so interesting, who’d of thought! You come away with 2 bottles of gin after been tanked up with several g&t’s throughout the whole experience. Thank you!

My husband surprised me last week with the Gin Experience for my birthday and it was fab! Really interesting to hear more about the history of gin but we also appreciated the gnts and martini they gave us during the event. Then the tasting itself was really interesting and I now have an awesome blend of my own (if I say so myself!) Add in the goody bag and we came home 4 bottles heavier. Actually he then took me to a posh restaurant, slightly sozzled. Highly recommended for all gin aficionados everywhere, and an excellent gift. Thanks guys!

Loved it, great food, lovely gin and fab service!!

It was my first visit with two good friends and a fantastically organised and fun afternoon of tasting, learning, creating gin. The staff from bar to classroom were very well informed and the venue itself was outstanding. We were also lucky enough to grab a table (at last minute) prior to the Experience upstairs and sample some nibbles from the bar which were delicious, accompanied by flavoursome gins! Can’t wait to show off my very own blend of gin with some amazing botanicals!

If you are Gin lover then it’s well worth it. Went with friends and we had a fantastic day 😊👍🍸

I spent two nights at The Distillery and participated in both events (the cocktail course and the Gin Experience). Everything was amazing, the room was cozy and lovely in general. The staff, especially Jack, Patrick and Sonny were very good at explaining all the important stuff regarding Gin, mixing cocktails and helping you blend your own personal Gin. The atmosphere of the whole location is just awesome, the Gintonica is a nice, relaxed spot to have a drink or two or taste some of the Gins created at The Distillery (highly recommend the Butter Gin).

Customer Service is a big plus of The Distillery. There was some noise in front of my room (which I didn't notice and it didn't bother me) due to some sort of event taking place and I was treated to two awesome Gin Tonics on the house. In general, one of the best customer service experiences I've ever had!



Thank you all very much for the great experience. I will definitely recommend this place to everyone and hopefully I will return someday and create another tasty Gin.

I got two tickets for ' the experience ' for Christmas. My boyfriend got this for me as I'm a gin fanatic and obsessed with botanicals , and all the old ways of using them for medicine , drinks , perfume etc . I was super exited , but had no idea what to expect.

Yesterday we finally managed to make time to go, and we're so glad we did!



We listened to the instructions and had a huge and heavy dinner before we went , and I can only recommend you do the same ;)



Our host was Patrick , who's a professional distiller and a comedian at heart �

We both agreed that Patrick played a huge role in this evening's success. In the first part of the experience we and the 6 other participants were sat in a dark and elegant "learning room" , which was designed to give you that classic old bar feel. We were served the first of many delicious gin&tonics there , and then enjoyed one hour of history lesson. It was super informative , very very interesting, and delivered by Patrick in a way that was very entertaining .

For the next part all 8 of us sat down at one table in the room next door , and were taught about the different botanicals , where they came from , what they're used for etc . We got to touch and taste the dry botanicals , and sip the pure spirits made of them . Long story short , to me it was heaven .

After having tried and understood the function of each botanical in a Gin , we got to create our own bottle of Gin from our favourites.



The whole 3 hour experience is very well thought through and perfectly organized . The ambience is beautiful and classy , and all their staff is super friendly .

We loved Patrick , and recommend the experience with him 100%



All in all it was the perfect gift , we left very happy , in a good mood and rather drunk �



Will recommend to all our friends !



Thanks !

Had a great 3 hours learning about the history and origins of gin, culminating in lots of yummy tasting and creating my own bottle ‘Two Malamutes’. Thanks to our excellent host Corey for a great afternoon

Had a fantastic time at The Ginsitute with 2 really great friends. Well organised and Jake was really knowledgeable on not only the history or gin but the distilling process as well. Would highly recommend this as a fun way to spend a few hours

Had a fantastic 3hr experience, starting with Sophie taking us through gin history whilst we enjoyed drinking it. Then Sonny told us all about the different botanicals and helped us blend our own bottles. This part soon turned a tad rowdy as the gin flowed and then we checked out everyone’s blend. Eric had mixed the botanicals for us and we left with the best party bag ever-our own blended bottle, a bottle of Portobello Road gin & gin magazine. Worth every penny 🍸

Had a fabulous afternoon and evening . My husband enjoyed the experience making his own gin. We had a great meal in Gintonica and stayed the night at the Distillery. Lovely staff, great service. Highly recommended.

Great, excellent staff really good fun.

Great early evening experience with my hubby. ( He is the gin lover, I hate it) However it was fascinating to learn about the history and I really enjoyed the Tom Collins. Pat was excellent and amazingly descriptive when describing the different botanicals. I had a great time and needless to say the husband is very happy with his 4 bottle takeaway!! Would highly recommend the experience and the tapas were fab .

Fun place to learn the origin and history of Gin thru the ages whilst sampling and finally making our own unique Gin. With our knowledgeable mentor Patrick guiding our enthusiastic group we had the best time. Thank you Patrick!

From start to finish, the Gin experience and masterclass were fantastic, well lead and best of all, included plenty of gin.

Fantastic!! What a way to spend 3 hours fun and full of gin!! Well worth a trip down from Leeds. Thanks guys it was amazing!!

Fab place in a great area of London. Fun and interesting, generous amount of gin tasting so eat before you go! May seem expensive but was quite a unique experience and we happily came away with our 2 bottles of gin each. Would really recommend it! Wasn’t a gin fan now I am!

Did the distillery tour. It was a fantastic three hours full of insight into the history of gin and plenty of cocktails. Then a better understanding of the flavours and botanicals used in gin production followed by a chance to use this to blend your own gin to take home. Awesome! Jake who did our tour was great. Highly recommend. Good value for money

Brilliant, I was surprised when my husband took me to the ginstitute last weekend as a birthday present. It was excellent. The history was really interesting and presented well, with lots of cocktails to help � The making of our own gin was perfect, and the end result very tasty. I want to go every year �

Brilliant experience, very much worth the money. First part being the history of gin and several different gin based drinks. Second part tasting 57 per cent proof botanicals and blending your own unique gin then tasting everyone’s result. At the end you walk (!) away with a bottle of Portobello gin and a bottle of your own blend.



Highly recommended.

Brilliant afternoon and very informative not just a tour of a gin still. Good fun had by all and 2 bottles if gin to take home in addition to the drinks provided and tasters. Excellent!

Big thanks to Jake for a great night last night. Took my dad along for his birthday and we both really enjoyed it. If you like gin, there is no better place to spend an evening!

Absolutely fantastic afternoon. Enjoyed every minute if it. Well done to our host Jack - very knowledgeable and professional �

Absolutely amazing place. Had such a blast making my gin and learning loads. Stay the night as well. Great staff as will recommend this to any gin lover.

A must do for any lover of Gin. We attended the 3 hr Gin experience, starting off with a great insight into the history of gin, these guys really know their stuff. Absolutely fascinating and accompanied by a few gin cocktails you can't go wrong.

Then came the gin making - tasting the various botanicals choosing your blend and and getting the flavours, balance and subtle banknotes just right. The moment of truth, does celary seeds, pink peppercorn, lemon grass, lime and coriander make the perfect gin...... not a bad job if I do say so myself.

This place is great, can't recommended this place highly enough.

A great place to spend an afternoon. Would highly recommend to any gin lovers!

5* plus!

Fantastic evening, such fun.

Cody our host was so knowledgeable about history if Gin, started with a Tom Collins, followed by several other large G n Ts.

Lots of laughs and created our own blend of gin to bring home. Totally fabulous!!

A must for all gin lovers..

Want to do it all again.

😊😊🍸🍸

Very entertaining afternoon filled with lots of information on gin and lots of gin!!

This was a load of fun. Have been wanting to do for a while. It isn’t cheap but you do get quite a few gin drinks throughout the session. Loved making my own Gin. Staff were fantastic. The only disappointing bit was only getting a 50cl bottle of Portobello Road Gin. It should have been a 70cl bottle. I know how much that retails for!

This is a nice place to stop for a gin cocktail on a Saturday, while roaming the marketplace on Portobello Rd. Gin drinkers should go to the second floor bar. Cheers!