∙ There are gin tastings, and then there are gin tastings with one of the country’s best-known chefs creating a dinner around what’s in your glass ∙

On Friday 18 September, The Wood Norton is hosting Glynn & Tonic, an intimate evening bringing together Culinary Director Glynn Purnell, artisan spirits from Evesham’s Hentony Gin, and a specially created three-course dinner inspired by the flavours and botanicals found in the evening’s drinks.

And when they say intimate, they mean it. There are spaces for just 20 guests, all coming together for an evening that begins with gin tasting in the Terrace Lounge before moving through to The Boardroom for dinner. Tickets are £85 per person.

∙ BOOK YOUR TICKET FOR 18 SEPTEMBER HERE ∙

∙ AN EVENING WITH GLYNN PURNELL ∙

Glynn Purnell needs little introduction. One of the UK’s most respected chefs, his career has included Michelin-starred cooking alongside regular appearances on programmes including Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen.

As Culinary Director at The Wood Norton, Glynn has helped shape the hotel’s food offering, and Glynn & Tonic gives guests an opportunity to experience something a little different from the usual restaurant dinner.

For this one-off evening, the food is being designed around the spirits themselves, exploring the botanicals, ingredients, and flavours within the Hentony range and translating them onto the plate.

∙ START WITH A G&T ∙

The evening begins at 7pm in the Terrace Lounge, where guests will settle in with a classic G&T before enjoying a second full-size serve chosen from Hentony’s range.

The guided tasting will explore Hentony’s spirits alongside selected comparisons, with plenty of opportunity to learn more about flavour profiles, botanicals, and distillation techniques. Canapés and breadsticks will be served along the way, making this a relaxed introduction to the evening rather than a formal tasting.

∙ MADE IN EVESHAM ∙

There is a lovely local connection to the event too, with Hentony Gin based in Evesham, making it a particularly fitting collaboration for The Wood Norton. Among the spirits being explored during the evening is Hentony’s London Dry Gin, with pink, black, and Szechuan pepper alongside grapefruit and lime.

The Black Lime & Lemon Gin combines black lime, lemon, kaffir lime leaf, and lemongrass, while the Honey Old Tom Gin brings together honey and black pepper. There will also be an opportunity to venture beyond gin with Hentony’s Amber Rum, a spiced and aged rum with notes of plum, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It is quite a flavour palette for Glynn and his team to play with.

∙ DINNER AROUND THE BOARDROOM TABLE ∙

At 8.30pm, the evening moves into The Boardroom for a three-course set dinner designed by Glynn Purnell. Each dish will have a connection to the spirits tasted earlier in the evening, either incorporating the gin itself or picking up on some of its defining botanicals and ingredients.

Glynn will introduce the menu during dinner, sharing more about the dishes and the thinking behind them. Rather than being spread around individual restaurant tables, all 20 guests will dine together around one table. It gives Glynn & Tonic more of a private dinner-party feel and should make for a wonderfully sociable evening.

And there is something to take home, too. Each couple will receive a copy of Glynn’s book, There and Back Again.

∙ JUST 20 SPACES ∙

The small number of guests is a big part of what makes Glynn & Tonic rather special. This isn’t a large-scale demonstration or traditional food festival event. It is a chance to spend an evening tasting locally produced spirits, learning a little more about how they are made, and then seeing how a chef of Glynn Purnell’s calibre interprets those flavours through food.

Glynn & Tonic takes place at The Wood Norton on Friday 18 September from 7pm. Tickets are £85 per person, with just 20 places available. With such limited numbers, booking ahead is very much recommended.

∙ BOOK YOUR TICKET FOR 18 SEPTEMBER HERE ∙