As I noted before attending, I had never attended the Hopscotch Festival before and was curious to see what it was all about.

Taking place at the Vancouver Forum, I discovered an arena’s-worth of booths, well-organized into rows of distilleries, breweries, even wineries, and different food options. A live band energized the crowd, and there was ample opportunity to sip different things.

The festival was busy: elbow to elbow; and the lines at each booth and table were long. Even so, I don’t think this is a bad thing; to be made to wait and pace yourself when there is so much hard alcohol available. This way you can slow down and enjoy the offerings at a reasonable pace.

All that booze needs food – and there was some great options, ranging from celebrity chefs making gourmet hot dogs and premium restaurants from around the city, including The Pawn Shop, Steel Toad, and La Pentola.

All the samples and food were accessed via a token system. At $1 each, the tokens are sold onsite in increments of five and 20, and most things cost 3-4 tokens.

So… what to taste, with 100+ booths to choose from?

I had planned try a few different craft beers and learn more about them, but that learning went out the window as I discovered this large public event was primarily for enjoyment. I found myself gravitating to the spirit that I love: gin.

It’s #gttime

Three of my favourite gins were there: Hendricks, The Botanist, and Vancouver Island’s Ampersand Distilling. I also discovered a brand new distillery, Taynton Bay Spirits.

Hendricks, a gin from Scotland, is probably my favourite big brand gin. It has an aromatic flavour profile, heavy on cucumber; and I typically drink it just with soda water so I can really enjoy the flavour of the gin. The packaging and branding is edgy & unconventional & that fits into the quirky side of my personality.

Very much on brand for being ‘a most unusual’ Gin choice, Hendricks had a large corner display, featuring a lineup of jars with each of its botanicals, red roses and cucumber as décor, and the main attraction: a homemade steam-punk Negroni-making machine, the “Hendrick’s Cocktail Configurator”. With this contraption the bartender pulls levers to up-end bottles of gin and mix so they pour doses over ice, and mix together to form a Negroni. Theatrical & fun.

Further down the lane I encountered The Botanist. With a different tone from Hendricks, this distiller also played into its brand-name well. A countertop adorned with moss and greenery set the tone for the booth where you could make your own “B&T”. The “B” refers to the hand-foraged BC botanicals harvested earlier that day in Powell River, and included spruce tips, wild spearmint, hemlock, reindeer lichen, rosehips and more. The idea was to select your own botanical and then the bartenders incorporate your choice into a well-balanced gin and tonic. I selected a leaf of Labrador tea & enjoyed a well balanced g&t as I scoped out the rest of the space.

Next, I was delighted to see the team from Ampersand Distilling. I am a big fan of this Vancouver Island gin. The distiller, Jeremy Schacht, who I had met a few years back, was on hand and it was a pleasure to say a big hello to him and also meet Jessica Schacht, the woman who helped found the distillery and create the distinctive recipe for Ampersand’s gin with Jeremy. The distillery does very well with competitions and other spirits festivals and this is their first time at Hopscotch.

The last gin I tried was brand new. Invermere-based Taynton Bay Spirits was debuting their lineup of spirits. I only tasted the gin. It was well-made, and I noted with interest that after only six months on the market, this distillery had some solid retailer support already. By my palate, the gin had a citrus note and leaned more on the vodka-esque side of gin, so this would be a gin that I would like to put into a mixed drink for sure, and would be happy to use with shrubs and other mixes.

After circulating the space a few times and sampling three gins, that was enough for me for my first time at Hopscotch.

Next year I hope to return and make a different approach, but the take-away is that if you like to drink beverage alcohol, there will be something there for you.

As I expand to other beer and spirit festivals, I will get a sense of where this one fits in, but for me it seems a good value for section galore.

Disclosure: I was offered a ticket to explore this festival, and the opinions are my own.