Wallingford's The Keep make new BunkFest Gin

Sam Smith and Rob McGregor, who have run The Keep bar in Wallingford since 2016, have created BunkFest Gin as an homage to the town’s annual music and beer festival taking place from Friday, September 2 to Sunday, September 4.

The duo, who first created their own original gin – Albino Flamingo – in 2019 wanted a new product dedicated to the event and it’s return after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Mr Smith said: “Since we’ve opened we’ve doing a gin stand at BunkFest so we thought, ‘Lets make a gin for the festival’.

“We came up with the idea last year and we wanted to include BunkFest in more ways than just the label so we’ve included Citra hops as it’s a beer and music festival.

“Citra hops is usually in beer but we gave it a try and it works really well. It’s a traditional gin with Citra hops and lemon peel which is a summery take on the gin.”

As well as a beer infused flavour, the bottle design matches a beer flagon and the green label includes common themes of the festival include the face of Bob Wyatt - the founder -, Morris dancers, the River Thames, a stage, and more.

The duo, which launched the product last weekend, have only made 500 bottles of the gin as a limited-edition drink and have already sold half of the batch.

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They will serving it at the festival as well as hoping local pubs will have a bottle in stock for the weekend.

A proportion of the profits will also be donated to a charity of BunkFest’s choice.

“BunkFest attracts people not just from Wallingford but all round,” said Mr Smith. “There has been a lot of excitement all round – especially as the bottle is shaped like a beer flagon.

“It’ll be nice to have a spirit on offer. We won’t distill anymore gin until next year and I think having a limited batch makes it a collector’s thing.

“We’re buzzing about it and we can’t wait for the festival. The whole of Wallingford is ready for it and the public is raring to go.

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“This year is going to be huge. It’s going to have the biggest attendance since it started, I think because it’s been three years since it was able to be held.

To buy a bottle, which costs £35 each, prior to the festival, visit: thekeepwallingford.com

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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