Chester Zoo has officially launched its very own gin just in time for Christmas.
The pandemic left Britain’s largest wildlife centre on the ropes back in summer – with owners launching a public campaign for support that raised 2.4 million in the space of just over a week.
Despite lower attendances and periods of full closure, Chester Zoo has managed to stay afloat in 2020 – and now they’re hoping to raise more money towards crucial conservation work with their very own spirit bottle.
Infused with hand-picked ingredients from plants that feed the animals at the zoo, ‘Chester Zoo Gin’ boasts a ‘tropical’ taste – with buyers also able to grow wildflowers from the seed paper label.
Tom Culshaw, Senior Food and Beverages Manager at the zoo, said: “The concept for the gin came from walking around the vast and amazing landscape of the zoo, taking in all the different gardens, varieties and species of plants that we have at our fingertips. Working closely with our botany and horticulture departments led to an organic idea of how we could further utilise what we have around us.”
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Curator of Botany and Horticulture at the zoo, Phil Esseen, added: “The botanicals used in the Chester Zoo gin are carefully balanced to create a unique flavour and were selected to reflect the zoo’s tropical landscapes, and our work with rare plants. For example, one of the more unusual flavourings in the gin is extracted from banana leaves. These were grown here at the zoo, where we use the hardy Japanese banana (Musa basjoo) to help create a tropical effect in our planting, particularly in our South East Asian islands habitats.
“We also use the leaves to wrap up different foods for feeding to the chimps, as part of their dietary and behavioural enrichment, and grow dandelions, another botanical in the gin, as it is a much loved part of our tortoises’ diet.”
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Teaming up with The Secret Garden, a specialist Herb Nursery in Edinburgh and The Old Curiosity distillery, Chester Zoo experts combined their knowledge and passion to create unique flavours.
Tom Culshaw continued: “We took a lot of guidance from The Secret Garden’s team who spent time at the zoo with our plant experts; carefully selecting which botanicals would give us a bespoke product, and what would highlight the work the teams do to feed and enrich the animals.”
Owner and herb specialist, Hamish Martin, advised on what ingredients would bring the gin to life, he said: “Chester Zoo Gin is like no other gin.
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“It has been inspired by all of the incredible animals and is made up of 11 botanicals we have specifically picked from the zoo banana leaves, chicory flowers and dandelion, all of which are used to feed the animals – so I suppose you could say the food that feeds the animals will become the spirit to fulfil your taste buds!
“It’s a huge prestige for The Secret Garden and the distillery to be supplying Chester Zoo. We farm completely naturally with no chemicals whatsoever and truly love nature, values I know the zoo shares. We have had such fun creating this gin and it is a joy to be launching it now, and I am sure the visitors and supporters of the zoo will love it too.”
Chester Zoo gin is available in 50cl and 20cl and can be purchased from The Oakfield restaurant at the zoo or via their new online shop.
Deansgate bar Simmons closes just over a year after opening
Danny Jones
London-born bar brand Simmons has closed their Manchester site just over a year after opening their first Northern location.
They’ve lasted roughly 15 months on one of our busiest nightlife strips.
Opening on Deansgate back in October 2024, Simmons Manchester wasn’t just their first foray here up in this half of the country but their only other venue outside of the capital.
An otherwise well-established and popular chain down south, they have a total of 15 different bars in central London, but things clearly haven’t quite taken off as planned here in Manchester.
Placing a poster in the unit’s shopfront besides the likes of Be At One, Yours, The Moon Under The Water Spoons and the Deansgate branch of Slug and Lettuce, as you can see, the fellow franchise founded over a decade ago said: “After much consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye”, they add, “We’re incredibly proud of what the team built here and so grateful to them, as well as everyone who joined us over the past year.
“We’ve had some unforgettable nights. We love Manchester, and we hope to be back under the right conditions.”
They go on to thank everyone for being “part of the journey”, but for now, it looks like the room has closed effective immediately.
Simmons started back in 2012 when founder Nick Campbell opened the first bar below his flat in Kings Cross, and their presence has grown hugely since then. The closing sign was spotted and shared on social media earlier this week.
Offering everything from stylish cocktails to New York-style pizza, live music and even private karaoke booths, the place had plenty going on.
With rising business rates, energy bills and more dovetailing with the continuing cost of living crisis that is still hampering both hospitality and the nightime economy, they are just one of many to unfortunately close their doors of late.
For instance, it was only earlier this month that we saw multiple well-known names shut up shop here in the city centre or elsewhere in Greater Manchester, including another long-standing late-night favourite, Revolution.
It’s a shame for any business to close, and we certainly hope they’ll return someday with a model that can be sustained in the current climate.
Inside Butter Bird – Ancoats’ hottest new neighbourhood rotisserie with a menu dedicated to butter
Clementine Hall
A new restaurant has opened its doors in Ancoats serving up two of life’s greatest pleasures.
Those two things being chicken and butter. And coincidentally, they go very well together.
Introducing Butter Bird, a new neighbourhood rotisserie restaurant that has taken over the old Counter House site on Blossom Street.
If you’ve been living under a rock or you have a healthy relationship with social media, then you won’t know that rotisserie chicken is very much ‘in’ for 2026.
Images: The Manc Eats
So of course, just like anything, Ancoats is first to hop on that trendy bandwagon.
When simple things are done properly then they’re very satisfying indeed, and that’s exactly what Butter Bird have achieved.
Built around classic spit cooking and time honoured technique, with an impressive Rotisol Millenium rotisserie oven at the heart of the space, the chickens are seasoned and brined in house, then slowly rotated over open heat so the meat self bastes as it cooks.
Images: The Manc Eats
The result? Moreish, crisp, golden skin, succulent meat and deep flavour.
If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, they’ve also got a section of their menu dedicated entirely to their house butters.
Flavoured, complex butters designed to compliment your bird in however you desire.
My personal favourite was the moroccan-spiced Chermoula, but the tarragon with wildflower and mustard was also stellar.
Images: The Manc Eats
Drinks wise they’ve got a great selection of Crémant, chosen to cut through the chicken fat, as well as fun cocktails and decent wines.
Obviously you’ll need some sides to go with your bird which you can order as a quarter or half, and they’ve got everything from rotisserie potatoes which you can douse in chicken gravy to a Caesar salad stuffed with enough croutons it’s probably not classed as a salad anymore.
Butter Bird opens to the public on Thursday 29 January, with a launch offer offering 50% off rotisserie chicken when booked in advance for the first two weeks.
The Manc -
11th December 2020 
