Your Local Guide to Food and Drink on the Isle of Wight
Last Modified: 9 June 2025 10:39 am
It’s nearly here! No excuses are needed to imbibe one of our nation’s favourite tipples. To mark World Gin Day on the 14th June 2025, we’ve created a handy guide to gin on the Isle of Wight, featuring local distillers, upcoming events, and delicious cocktail recipes.
World Gin Day is a global celebration of all things gin, which falls each year on the second Saturday in June. The idea is simple: get people together all around the world with a legitimate excuse (not that we need one!) to drink some gin, whether it’s in a cocktail, G&T or neat.
Gin was first imported from the Netherlands in the 1690s and began to rival beer as the most popular drink in England. So popular in fact, that in the first half of the 18th century, the consumption of gin increased so rapidly, especially in London, that the period was named ‘The Gin Craze’. There are many stories of people falling to rack and ruin for the love of Gin, women especially, with the well-known moniker, ‘Mother’s Ruin’ (so unfair!)
Then came the Gin Act of 1751, a parliamentary measure intended to crack down on the consumption of spirits. It raised taxes and fees for retailers and made licenses more difficult to come by. So there was much fanfare when, in 2008, after several years of lobbying, Sipsmith was granted England’s first official gin distiller’s license since 1820!
For more information on gins from around the world, visit The Gin Archive, a web-based encyclopaedia of gin brands, supported by a private collection. The collection includes rare samples such as the Cambridge Distillery Watenshi Gin and the 1495 Verbatim and Interpretatio Gins. Constantly expanding, The Gin Archive now holds more than 5,000 different gins from over 60 different countries.
We now have several local gin producers here on the Isle of Wight, crafting a wide range of different varieties.
The Isle of Wight Distillery produces a variety of high-quality, hand-crafted spirits for those who appreciate exceptional flavours and authenticity. Their selection includes five gins: Mermaid Gin, Mermaid Pink Gin, Mermaid Zest Gin, HMS Victory Gin, and HMS Victory Oak Aged Gin. They use locally foraged botanicals, which include rock samphire and elderflower, that are meticulously sourced for quality and carefully blended to create a smooth, fresh and complex flavour profile.
The Distillery also has its very own bar. The Mermaid Bar, nestled in Pondwell, on the outskirts of Ryde. This former pub has been elegantly renovated into a luminous and inviting bar. Offering guests magnificent views of the idyllic surrounding countryside alongside cocktails made with their own gin.
Nestled in the heart of the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Wight Gin Company handcrafts and distils a variety of artisan gins, using botanicals sourced from the local area where possible. Their selection includes four gins: Island Spirit, Gigglemug, Frofor, and Lufsom. Island Spirit, in particular, is described as a ‘taste of a warm summer breeze’, handcrafted and delicately infused with local botanicals, capturing the essence and tastes of the Isle of Wight.
The Isle of Wight Gin Company have collaborated with some local businesses on the Island to create some unique gins. These partners include Quarr Abbey, The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary, and Wildheart Animal Sanctuary.
Located at Ventnor Botanic Garden on the southern coast of the Isle of Wight, Hill Hassall Botanics are dedicated to growing eucalyptus, using natural ingredients and the best sustainable practices available, to use to create their eucalyptus cordial. In addition to the cordial, they have introduced a limited edition dry gin infused with eucalyptus leaves.
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway are bringing a celebration of Gin & Steam to their Havenstreet Station. Step back in time to the unique 1940s setting and sample a range of craft spirits across the station, the park, the new Barn Café and even on board one of their historic steam trains.
For more information, visit their website.
Back in 2019, we had a chat with the people over at Northwood House in Cowes, who know a thing or two about gin, as they organised the Northwood House Gin Festival. We requested a cocktail suggestion for your enjoyment, and they suggested trying out a Stormy Sailor!
For some delicious cocktail recipes made with local Isle of Wight ingredients, check out our Isle of Wight Cocktail Recipes blog post. We’ve got a recipe for a Pink Siren cocktail from The Met in Ventnor made with Mermaid Pink Gin, as well as three other recipes featuring spirits produced on the Isle of Wight.
