In time for the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stirling Distillery launched Neve Gin with a free curling event.
The Gin Review:
The gin tastes how I think snow should: crisp, citrusy, and a little floral without being flowery. Having a winter but not Christmas effect, good thing considering its name, Neve, is snow in Italian.
The final extra special touch of this gin is the silver flakes, which, when swirled in the bottle, give a snowglobe-like effect. Only 90 bottles are being produced, so act fast if you have ever wanted to eat snow and look at sparkly things while having a gin and tonic.
Having a go at Curling
Complementary gin and tonic in hand, guests were given 30 minutes of guidance by the Scottish Curling team and the chance to engage in a friendly competition on a portable curling lane.
Curling is a traditional Scottish sport which dates back to the 16th century. Typically played on ice, two teams take turns pushing the granite, a large puck resembling an iron, down the lane, aiming for the centre target called the button.
Each granite is left on the lane and has the chance to be knocked closer or further away by the next players. Points are given to the team with the granite closest to the button, in the amount of how many granites they have that are closer to the button than the other teams’ closest granite.
With no experience in curling, I found it easy to learn and fun to play. Overall, a great opportunity to expand my very limited sporting horizons.
Both Neve Gin and its launch event were great fun. Not only will I now be watching curling this Olympic season, but doing so with a sparkly gin and tonic.
This was a one-off event, but Stirling Distillery has both gin and whiskey experiences available. Check out Brigs review of the Gin experience here, or trust me and the 2025 Stirling Business awards, as I say it is well worth the visit.
Featured Image Credit: Liam Newland
Spencer is a 3rd Year History and English student interested in library science, baking, and storytelling.
