Gin Tasting Masterclass in Aberdeen

One sip and you start hearing the botanicals. This two-hour gin tasting masterclass in Aberdeen is led by the head distiller and run with a friendly team (Dan and Alan get shout-outs in the reviews), so you get both instruction and real conversation.

What I like most is the mix of hands-on training and actual sipping, starting with a double G&T and moving through single distillates. You’ll also get a chance to blend your own gin and take a shot at a mystery botanical, which turns a normal tasting into a mini skill builder.

One drawback to consider: it’s only about two hours, so if you want a long, slow evening of cocktails, this is more of a focused tasting session than a drop-in pub crawl.

Key highlights to know before you go

• Head distiller-led format: You’re tasting with the person who helps drive the spirit style and flavor thinking.
• Learn flavors by breaking gin down: Each botanical linked to London Dry gin is individually distilled, so you can recognize parts instead of just a final product.
• Blend your own gin: You’ll mix distillates to create a glass, not just watch someone else do it.
• Mystery botanical challenge: A single distilled botanical is served for you to guess based on flavor.
• Aberdeen Gin range tasting: Samples include London Dry and fruit gins.
• Q&A to finish strong: You can ask practical gin questions while enjoying a final sip.

Where You Start: City of Aberdeen Distillery on Palmerston Road

You meet at City of Aberdeen Distillery, Arch 10 Palmerston Rd, Aberdeen AB11 5RE, and the session ends back at the same meeting point. That matters more than it sounds. You don’t have to plot a route through town after tasting, and you can stay in your “one stop and done” mindset.

Starting around 2:00 pm also helps. You get enough daylight and energy for the palate work, and you’re not rushing into the evening before you’ve learned what you’re tasting.

A small group setup is a big plus here. The experience is capped at a maximum of 20 travelers, and that size usually means you get time to ask questions and actually connect with the people running the room, not just listen from the back row.

The Double G&T Start: Why the First Sip Sets the Tone

Most gin tastings start with politeness and small pours. This one starts with a double G&T on arrival, and that changes the whole vibe. Right away, you’re not just studying flavor from a distance. You’re drinking, smelling, and paying attention like a taster, not like a tourist with a tiny sample.

The base format makes sense: you’ll get single distillates, then move into gin samples, and there is a G&T to order as part of the food and drink flow. Practically, it means your taste buds are engaged from the start, and the session stays social instead of feeling like a classroom with spirits.

Also, if you’ve ever wondered whether gin is all juniper and nothing else, this format gives you a better answer quickly. The head distiller-led approach (with Dan and Alan running the experience side by side) sets expectations early: you’re going to identify flavors, not just rank drinks.

Training Your Palate: Single Distillates and the London Dry Breakdown

Here’s the smart part of this masterclass: you taste gin by learning how it’s built. Instead of presenting a finished gin and calling it a day, the session uses the idea that botanicals associated with London Dry gin are distilled individually.

That means you’re not guessing at what you like. You’re learning what each flavor component is likely to be doing in the final glass. It’s a big difference, especially if you tend to think of gin as one category.

You’ll taste a range of expressions of Aberdeen Gin through these single distillates. As you go, you practice recognizing flavors and linking them to what you’re tasting in the moment. You can focus on questions like:

• Does this taste bright and citrusy?
• Is it earthy or floral?
• Does it lean sharper or rounder?

And since the session is in English, you can keep up with the reasoning behind the flavors without translating in your head. You’ll also get that guided “pause and pay attention” rhythm, which is what makes the tasting stick.

The Mixologist Challenge: Blending Your Own Gin

After the tasting foundation, you switch roles. You go from student to mixologist and blend the distillates together to create your own glass of gin.

For me, this is the moment where the class becomes memorable. It turns abstract flavor talk into something you can control. If one botanical feels too strong, you can shift your blend. If another feels like it ties everything together, you can bring it forward.

Even if you’re not a confident drink maker, this is exactly the kind of practical exercise that builds real understanding fast. You’re learning how different botanicals work together, not just memorizing notes from a menu.

And it’s also why the group size matters. In a class of 20, you can usually get guidance, compare thoughts with the people next to you, and ask for clarification without waiting an eternity.

The Mystery Botanical Game: Guessing by Flavor

Next comes the challenge portion. You’ll taste a mystery botanical as a single distillate and try to guess what it is based on flavor.

This is a fun way to test your new palate instincts. You can’t rely on the look of a gin bottle or the label. You have to use what you learned while tasting the earlier distillates.

A mystery tasting does two things:

1. It keeps the session playful, so people don’t drift off mentally.
2. It turns practice into a competition with yourself. Even if you don’t guess correctly, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of which flavors you recognize and which ones you still need to learn.

If you love quizzes and sensory games, you’ll likely enjoy this part the most.

Aberdeen Gin in Real Form: French Demi-Johns and Sample Range

Once you’ve built the framework, you get into Aberdeen Gin itself. Samples are served directly from beautiful French glass demi-johns. That detail sounds fancy, but it also signals that you’re tasting in a serious distillery setting, not a generic bar corner.

You’ll sample both London Dry and fruit gins. That range matters for your understanding. London Dry styles tend to feel sharper, more juniper-forward, and often drier in finish. Fruit gins usually shift the flavor direction toward sweeter, juicier aromatics and a rounder feel.

So you’re getting practical taste education across styles, not just drinking one lane repeatedly.

If you’re the type who likes to order based on mood, this tasting can help you decide faster afterward. Instead of saying I like gin, you’ll be able to say I like gin that leans toward citrus botanicals, or I want the fruit side, or I prefer the drier juniper edge.

The Q&A Finale: Questions You Can Ask While Sipping

The masterclass ends with Q&A while you enjoy a final G&T. This is the part that makes the experience feel personal, because you can bring real-world questions to the people teaching.

The types of questions you can ask include:

• How long you can keep your gin
• What to look for when purchasing gin
• Whether London Dry Gin is all from London
• Whether you can make your own gin at home

Even if you don’t ask every question, the time slot is valuable. People often leave tastings with curiosity but no outlet. Here, you get a structured chance to clarify the things that matter when you’re buying bottles later.

It’s also a good moment to calibrate expectations. For example, learning how London Dry naming works can change how you interpret labels, and it’s the sort of detail that helps you shop smarter.

Price and Value: Is About $108 for Two Hours Worth It?

At about $108.71 per person for roughly two hours, this masterclass isn’t the cheapest way to drink gin in Aberdeen. But it does price like a guided experience, not a casual tasting flight.

Here’s the value logic that makes it feel fair:

• You get a head distiller-led approach, so the instruction is coming from the source.
• You’re tasting multiple expressions of Aberdeen Gin through single distillates, not just a few sips of finished products.
• You do interactive work, including blending your own glass and taking a mystery botanical challenge.
• You finish with a Q&A session and a final G&T moment, which ties the sensory experience back to real buying and storage questions.

If you simply wanted a drink, you could do that for less. But if you want a skill-building tasting, where you learn how to recognize flavors and what to do with that knowledge afterward, the price starts to make sense.

Also, the small-group cap at 20 is a hidden value. You’re more likely to get personal attention and better conversation than you would in a larger crowd.

What the Reviews Get Right: Passion, Chat Time, and Small-Group Fun

The strongest praise centers on the team and the atmosphere. Dan and Alan are repeatedly described as a perfect duo, with a real passion that comes through during the session. And people highlight that the group feels small enough for chatting and laughing, not just staring at a tasting board.

There’s also a practical benefit: there’s typically a good selection of things to purchase, and at least one reviewer specifically mentions options that work well for long-haul travel. Even if you don’t buy anything, knowing there’s shopping support makes the experience feel complete, like it doesn’t end when the tasting ends.

If you care about the social side of learning, this is the kind of class where you can be part of the room instead of a spectator.

Who This Masterclass Suits Best in Aberdeen

This is best for you if you fall into one of these groups:

• You like gin, but you want to understand what you like instead of guessing.
• You enjoy guided tastings with real teaching and time for questions.
• You want an Aberdeen-specific experience focused on local gin styles, including London Dry and fruit options.
• You’re traveling in a small group or as a solo visitor who still wants conversation built in.

It may feel less ideal if you’re looking for a wide-ranging nightlife plan. This is a focused session, roughly two hours, and the goal is learning through structured tasting.

It also helps if you’re comfortable asking questions. The Q&A is part of the experience, and the format rewards curiosity.

Quick Tips to Get More From Your Tasting

You’ll get more out of the masterclass if you show up ready to pay attention. A few practical habits help:

• Slow down and smell first. Sip, then pause, then smell again if you can.
• When you blend your own gin, focus on balance. Too much of one botanical can overpower the rest.
• During the mystery botanical tasting, commit to a guess, then note what clues led you there. That makes the lesson stick.
• Come prepared with one or two questions you truly care about, especially around buying and storage.

Also, you’ll likely be tasting multiple drinks. Pace yourself. The point is to learn, not to sprint through.

Should You Book This Gin Tasting Masterclass?

I think you should book it if you want more than a standard drink sampler. This masterclass is built around tasting gin the way distillers think about it, with single distillates, a blending challenge, and a guided Q&A close.

It’s also a great option if you’re short on time in Aberdeen but still want something hands-on and local. Two hours passes quickly, and you’ll leave with both taste memories and real shopping confidence for your next bottle purchase.

Book it especially if you enjoy small-group experiences where you can chat. With a cap of 20 and a structure that invites questions, you’re less likely to feel like you’re just along for the ride.

If you’re the type who dislikes structured activities and only wants pure, casual drinking, you might find it a bit instructional. But for most gin lovers, it hits a sweet spot: fun, interactive, and genuinely useful.

FAQ

Where does the Gin Tasting Masterclass in Aberdeen start?

It starts at City of Aberdeen Distillery, Arch 10 Palmerston Rd, Aberdeen AB11 5RE, UK, and the activity ends back at the meeting point.

How long is the masterclass?

The experience runs for about 2 hours.

How many people are in each class?

The masterclass has a maximum of 20 travelers.

What language is the experience offered in?

The masterclass is offered in English.

What is included during the tasting?

You’ll have a G&T on arrival, you’ll taste single distillates and samples of Aberdeen gin, you can order a G&T, and the session ends with a Q&A.

Is cancellation allowed, and what if weather is bad?

Yes, you can cancel for a full refund up to 24 hours in advance of the experience start time. If the experience is canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.