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It’s not often that Durban beats Cape Town to the punch. After all, residents of both cities are often ridiculed for spending plenty of time at the beach, and not enough at the office.

One area that Durban did manage to get a jump on Cape Town concerns the Fitch & Leedes Gin & Tonic festival, which was a massive hit last year further up the coast.

Due to that success, Fitch & Leedes, the superb range of authentic mixers preferred by most master distillers, now takes a bow as the title sponsor of the first Fitch & Leedes Gin & Tonic Festival to hit Cape Town.

First of all, you do know the crazy backstory to how the gin & tonic became so popular, right?

Thanks to the drink’s worldwide popularity, the much-anticipated festival brings a wide selection of local craft gins and premium international brands to one unique contemporary location – if you’re going to do it right, you should do it at The Lookout in the V&A Waterfront on Saturday, October 6.

This perfectly situated venue will come alive with artisanal food stalls serving a variety of gourmet street food, live music from local artists, and top-notch G&Ts prepared by expert mixologists.

The day will kick off at 11AM and run through to 8PM, which should give you plenty of time to sample everything that’s on offer.

There’s also a ticket giveaway going on (five sets of double tickets), but more on that later.

As title sponsor of the festival, Fitch & Leedes prides itself as the understudy to greatness, accentuating the botanical character and subtle notes in handcrafted gins. Understanding the time and effort put into perfecting a premium gin, Fitch & Leedes tonics are made for the utmost purity in terms of quality and taste to ensure the best representation of what was intended by the master distiller.

Whilst Fitch & Leedes will be supplying the tonics for all the G&T’s at the festival, you should also keep your eyes peeled for some exciting new tonic twists.

The current Fitch & Leedes range comprises of nine timeless classics. To start, there’s Indian Tonic, Pink Tonic and Craft Cola – all of which are available in regular and sugar-free. That’s one way to tackle any potential hangover, by the way.

Then there is also Club Soda, Ginger Ale, Bitter Lemon and Bitter Lemon Lite, Peach Lemonade, Lemonade, and Spicy Ginger Beer.

Here’s brand manager James Shaw:

Our partnership with the Gin and Tonic Festival has been such a wonderful experience in Durban that bringing it to Cape Town was a must. At Fitch & Leedes, it is our philosophy that the hard work and skill of the distiller should be amplified and celebrated. This is why it is great to see our mixers paired with all the signature gins on offer at the festival.

Yes please, I think I will try all the gins. Pretty sure we already know what our favourite gin in the world is, though.

Here’s how things will work at the Fitch & Leedes Gin & Tonic Festival:

• Grab your limited edition branded Fitch & Leedes Gin & Tonic Festival glass and a Rate Your Gin leaflet upon arrival.
• Head to the Cash Loading station and chat to one of our cashiers about loading your money onto a cashless card. (Cash is King, but not when you’re trying to hold a G&T in one hand and count coins in the other.)
• Head on off into Gin-lovers paradise where you’ll find over 20 different Gin Bars each offering a different Gin. Choose between a G&T taster or a handcrafted, perfect serve G&T poured by our mixologists and bartenders, accompanied by fresh garnishes.
• Don’t forget your ‘Rate Your Gin Leaflet’! You can use this leaflet to guide yourself through the festival and to rate your gin experience as you go. Don’t forget to get your leaflet stamped at each different Gin bar you visit.
• Hand in your completed leaflet to the Cash Loading Tent to stand a chance to win a year’s worth of Gin & Tonic.

Thanks for sticking around. Yes – you can win a year’s worth of Gin & Tonic.

Tickets range from R160 through to R180 per person, and you can find all of the details on the festival, and how to purchase your tickets, here.

Better yet, why not try and win some tickets. Here are the deets:

You go and have yourself a good day out. You’ve earned it.