Disclaimer: Hendricks‘ PR people invited me along to the Courtship Clinic and I received a Hendricks gift bag. I didn’t plan to post about this but had such fun, I couldn’t not!

Over the weekend Hendricks Gin held its final “Refined Courtship Clinic” here in Adelaide. The pop-up clinic had already visited Melbourne, Sydney and Perth and couldn’t have chosen a better weekend to open its doors at the end of Rundle Street.

Pop ups don’t seem to be such a big thing in Adelaide (or is that even Australia?) but Hendricks used this as a very natty piece of promotion. Patrons were lured in with the promise of a complimentary G&T (really, what’s not to like?) and if you were so inclined you could participate in a session where you could learn the language of fans and other hints on etiquette and courting from the Victorian age.

I, however, was quite happy to sit on the lovely red sofa, enjoy my G&T (served in a tea cup, no less – this is a gem of an idea which I plan to exploit in future!) and have a chat with a couple of other patrons.

Hendricks gin is lovely (I am an enthusiastic gin drinker in warm weather). It’s only been available in Australia this year but I had it quite a few times when I lived in England. I don’t want to get too technical, but gin is flavoured by a mix of what is known as ‘botanicals’ (that’s plants and herbs, to you and me). However, for it to be gin, it must be juniper dominant. Hendricks adds the twist of including cucumber and rose in the mix, making it more floral than other gins. At the clinic, the G&T was served with a slice of cucumber and crushed ice (another idea I’ll be appropriating – so much more civilised than cubes!).

Unfortunately, the clinic has finished its journey around Australia. This means you will have to check out Hendricks at your favourite bar, or dive in and splash out on a whole bottle.