Gin collection up for record (From The Oxford Times)

Gin collection up for record

12:00pm Tuesday 29th May 2012 in Oxford By Damian Fantato, covering Summertown, Jericho and North Oxford. Call me on 01865 425429

A HOTEL is hoping to set a world record for the biggest collection of gin under one roof.

A Guinness World Record judge will visit The Feathers in Woodstock on Friday to see if the collection of gins behind the bar is the world’s largest.

The hotel has been collecting gins for the past year after it was redecorated, picking them up from all over the world.

Manager Jeremy du Plessis said: “We are not too sure what the current record is but we know we are near it.

“There was never a conscious decision to go for the record. Everybody here enjoys gin.

“The more we have become involved in it, the more we have enjoyed it.

“There is a young brigade of people drinking gin now. It seems to have become a fashionable drink to be seen drinking again.”

After a year’s work, the Market Street hotel boasts 163 different types of gin and now many of the hotel’s guests come back to sup from the collection.

It boasts brands from Holland, Spain, the USA and Germany as well as Britain, home of the famous London Gin.

Mr du Plessis, 49, said: “There are big differences from one gin to another. I didn’t realise myself just how much difference there is.

“There is a lot of stuff out there which is mass produced and generic, but some gins you have to order.

“If you were to walk into a decent restaurant you would expect to get a wine list – we have got a gin list.”

Though it originated in medieval Italy, the spirit became popular in Britain after the Government allowed unlicensed production, prompting a gin craze.

The adjudicator will be at The Feathers at 3pm and the hotel has invited members of the public along to see how it gets on.