Manchester Gin has teamed up with Joy Division legend Peter Hook to launch two new, limited edition series of Manchester Gin FAC51 The Hacienda.
Created to honour the iconic Manchester nightclub’s 40th anniversary this year, the special bottles feature two new rare label designs that nod to the heady days of all-night acid house raves in the former shipping warehouse.
The first recreates a famous piece of Haçienda street art originally featured on the famous Northern Quarter House, whilst the second includes the mantra “The Haçienda Must Be Built.”
Image: Manchester Gin
Both labels are located on the inside of the bottles to make them appear distorted through the clear liquid – an intentional reference to the club’s wild, debaucherous parties of days gone by.
As for how it all tastes, dandelion and burdock root joins with lemon and lime peel to create a ‘refreshing zestiness’ on the nose that then turns sherbety on the tongue in another nod to the club’s acid house era.
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To mark the special release, New Order and Joy Division legend Peter Hook will play an intimate gig at Northern Quarter record shop Vinyl Exchange as part of a store takeover.
Image: The Manc Group
The Manchester music legend will be stepping behind the decks on Saturday 5 March between 1 and 4pm, with free gin, bottle signings and on-point selections promised all afternoon.
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Those heading down will be amongst the first to get their hands on the new gin and will have first access to the limited edition bottles.
‘Golden tickets’ will also be hidden throughout Vinyl Exchange, which will entitle the holder to a free vinyl record (or £20 off) in store on Saturday only.
Located in the Northern Quarter, and a staple of the Manchester music scene for over 34 years, Vinyl Exchange can be found on the corner of Oldham Street and Dale Street.
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Seb Heeley, Manchester Gin founder and master distiller, said: “When we first collaborated with Peter Hook in 2019, we were overwhelmed by the public response. Now, we are so excited to revisit this partnership with the launch of two new limited-edition labels.
“The Haçiendawas such an iconic venue, and its influence has spread far beyond Manchester. It occupies a special place in the heart of many Mancunians, and we are delighted to be able to further celebrate its legacy 40 years on.
“Vinyl Exchange is another Manchester musical institution. Opening in 1988, just in time for the Haçienda’s Acid House heyday, it makes perfect sense for us to launch the new limited-edition series of Manchester Gin FAC51 The Haçienda here.”
The new limited edition expressions of the gin can be purchased online from 7 March.
Feature image – Manchester Gin
News
11 arrested and £70k cash seized during early-morning police drug raids across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
11 people have been arrested, as well as a large amount of cash and drugs seized, during early-morning raids across Greater Manchester.
The raids took place during the early hours of the morning yesterday (Thursday 19 March 2026), where Greater Manchester Police (GMP) successfully executed eight warrants simultaneously across Tameside, Oldham, and Rochdale to tackle a ‘suspected criminal network’ involved in the distribution of class A drugs and firearms.
Officers from Tameside Programme Challenger team, the District Intelligence Unit (DIU), and GMP’s Tactical Aid Unit (TAU) were deployed to each of the addresses.
Following weeks of intelligence gathering and preparation, a total of 11 people – each aged between 24 and 77 – were arrested on suspicion of drug-related offences during the raids.
Eight men and three women were arrested on suspicion of a range of offences, including conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs, being part of an organised crime group, possession with intent to supply, money laundering, and possession of an offensive weapon.
They all remain in police custody for questioning at this time, GMP confirmed.
During searches of the addresses, various class A, B and C drugs – including crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis, and nitrous oxide – were seized, while further recoveries of £70,000 in cash, a zombie knife, a BB gun, and four vehicles were also made at the same time.
Speaking following the success of the raids yesterday, Chief Superintendent Shan Nasim, District Commander for Tameside, said: “[This] operation has been a powerful example of our continued, determined effort to dismantle organised crime in our district and Greater Manchester.
“We have 11 people in custody being questioned by our investigation teams in relation to an organised crime group (OCG) that have been causing widespread harm across our communities.
“This action caused significant disruption of an organised crime group (OCG) and has prevented drugs and weapons from reaching the streets, as well as the associated harms that come hand in hand with organised crime.
“Organised criminals exploit vulnerable people and blight our communities; we will take robust action to catch offenders, keep our communities safe, and protect vulnerable people across Greater Manchester.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
The Premier League is keeping its crucial cap on away game ticket prices – for now
Danny Jones
The Premier League has announced it is extending its crucial price cap for away games, as the general cost of match tickets continues to creep up all over the country.
Most season card holders, be they here in Greater Manchester or elsewhere, are likely looking at their annual spending going up simply, so steps like these are key in keeping first division football as affordable as possible.
And that’s just the ongoing cost of living, let alone the clubs that are continuing the trend of charging more each year and, unfortunately, even pricing some supporters out entirely.
With that in mind, the news of England’s top-flight sides voting unanimously to keep the £30 cap intact for at least another two years comes as relief to those who spend most of the year putting their hard-earned cash towards following their team home and away.
BREAKING: The Premier League extend £30 cap on away tickets for another two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L336aZwmn3
Now confirmed to remain in place until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, travelling fans obviously still spend plenty of money on transport and so on every year, but at least they don’t have to worry about rising general admissions.
At least not for the time being…
Writing in a statement, the Premier League said: “Away fans help create the incredible atmosphere Premier League matches are renowned for. Since the cap’s implementation in 2016, it has contributed to attendance at away games increasing from 82% to 91%.”
They also acknowledged the significant and regular funds that supporters still spend on these trips, with plenty of people online also praising the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped spearhead the campaign over a decade ago.
With so many other obstacles still getting in the way of fans making it to games either at their usual stadium or on an away day – not least of all the constant and increasingly frustrating rescheduling of fixtures – it’s good to see this isn’t an area the Prem are trying to target.
As always, the multi-billion-pound business can always seek out other, newer money spinners, and we’re absolutley certain they will. For instance, there’s at least one happening over in Spain that we’d happily see carried over here.
Following the news, this now means that fans will ultimately have enjoyed 12 back-to-back seasons of the benefit, and long may it continue.
Nevertheless, the biggest barrier for people to watch the beautiful game at its highest level in the UK remains the cost of standard tickets.
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and more have already let matchgoers know that their season ticket prices will be going up, and the likes of Man City have already seen backlash for increasing rates amid the expansion of the Etihad Campus.
Georgina Pellant -
1st March 2022 
