THE makers of a Wirral gin are among those competing in this year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Vintage-style Darkside Gin, produced by West Kirby-based Tappers Gin, is among more than 2,000 entries battling it out for the coveted medal at the prestigious annual event.

On his product's entry in the competition, master compounder, Dr Steve Tapril told the Globe: "I'm very nervous about it, but we'll see what happens."

Steve -  who graduated from Sheffield University with a PhD in information science - continued: "It's fantastic that our small batch Darkside Gin is competing alongside spirits from across the globe.

"Winning an SFWSC medal would be incredible as every entry is blind tasted by respected industry experts".

The gin takes its name from an affectionate term given to Wirral by 'nose baggers', an Edwardian term for day trippers from Liverpool who venture over to the 'dark side' of the River Mersey. 

Steve said Darkside is a gin proud of its roots, adding: "We independently produce Darkside in batches of about 40 bottles by hand from start to finish in our seaside hometown of West Kirby.

"It took a year to formulate the recipe and since we launched, around 12 months ago, the response has been incredible.

"Local venues including The West Kirby Tap and Ship Inn Hoylake were with us from the start and Darkside is now popping up in bars across the country from London to Newcastle".

He continued: "I've never had any experience of working in the pub industry, my decision to produce was borne out of a passion.

"All brewing is done at home, all by hand, and I'm very grateful to Wirral Council for granting me the licence to do do.

"The bottles come from Venice and are individually marked and I wax seal them once they have been filled.

"Sometimes when I'm sealing them at midnight I ask myself 'what am doing?'", he joked, "but it has all been worth it.

"The feedback has been great from the bars I have supplied the gin to; a lot of this has come from whiskey drinkers".

The results of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition on May 15, just in time for Tappers Gin's first birthday.

A host of treats, competitions and events are lined up to mark the occasion.

  • Saturday, April 29, and Sunday April 30: Independent Liverpool Spring Gin Festival in the Great Baltic Warehouse, Liverpool.
  • Tuesday, May 23: Tappers Gin Tasting at The West Kirby Tap, West Kirby. Tickets from westkirbytap.co.uk
  • Thursday, May 25t: Producer's night at Burnt Truffle in Heswall. Tickets available from 0151 342 1111 or via burnttruffle.net
  • Saturday May 27 and Sunday May 28: Tappers will be serving up G&Ts and retailing bottles of their handcrafted West Kirby gin Artisans in Sefton Park @ St Hilda's, Liverpool. Details at: www.facebook.com/Artisansinthepalmhouse/

Follow them on Twitter @tappersgin, facebook.com/tappersgin and instagram.com/tappersgin.