G & Tea Bar (Bar)

Top 10 things you need to know about G & Tea bar:

1) You might think you already know about gin. You’ve probably sampled a gin and tonic or two during your lifetime, but let me tell you, you don’t know gin like the people at G & Tea Bar.

2) G & Tea is the bar at the Marriott hotel in West India Quay. While lacking a remarkable interior - think modern hotel look with no particular theme or style - it does make up for it with knowledge.

3) Well, knowledge, and a wall at the bar filled with more than 140 different types of gin. A wall of gin can solve a lot of problems: bad dates, boring meetings, the Tube, etc.

4) If you’re interested in sampling (and you know you are) just chat to your barman, and they will talk you through a few, instead of offering any formal gin tastings.

5) When we visited, we tried gins flavoured with coconut, elderflower gin liquors, and delicious smokey gin aged in whisky barrels.

6) The charming barman also works magic on gin-based cocktails. I recommend the Genever Penicillin, for a proper pre-dinner knock-your-socks-off-with-alcohol cocktail.

7) You can also learn many a fun gin fact from the bar staff (always useful for any gin parties you go to – which, if it isn’t a thing you do, should be). Namely, Navy Gin must be 57% proof because back in the day, the gin and the gunpowder were kept in the same ship hold. This was a bit of a problem, as a bit of rough weather, could cause your gin bottles to break and go on your gunpowder, making it wet and unable to burn. At 57% proof, however, the gunpowder will burn anyway (plus the sailors can get more drunk on less volume – hurrah and huzzah!).

8) It’s a hotel bar in London, and therefore a lot of the punters are hotel guests. However there were also a few after-work groups. It is in Canary Wharf, after all.

9) We went on a Friday night when it had enough people for a bit of a buzz but not to cause any bar queues.

10) All in all, it’s pretty simple: if you like gin, you go to G & Tea bar. ...read more