Ipswich gin lovers will have plenty to cheer after it was confirmed that two festivals celebrating the spirit will be held in the town later this month.

The Ipswich Maritime Gin Festival gets underway on Thursday, August 16, followed by an 11-day event at Wetherspoon’s Cricketers Pub, which begins the following day.

Thursday’s inaugural gin festival, organised by Beer & Co, is part of the wider Ipswich Maritime Festival, offering a weekend of nautical celebrations including, food, drink and street entertainment.

Across four days, there will be five main events, starting on the Thursday with a gin cruise along the river Orwell, which has sold out. Other events include a gin cocktail supper at the Suffolk Food Hall, a summer gin brunch at Arlingtons Cafe and restaurant, gin tasting and firework spectacular and more.

Event organiser, Greg Cooper of Beer&Co, said: “We have been hosting ‘Secret Gin Club‘ sessions locally, which showcase a range of fantastic Gin’s in the most interesting venues and locations in the town. These sessions have proved to be extremely popular and thought it would be a great idea to create something just as special for Ipswich Maritime.”

The Cricketers’ event, which is being organised separately to the Maritime Festival, will see gins from Japan, Portugal, Spain, Germany and the UK, served up at the Crown Street pub from August 17-27 inclusive.

The Cricketers manager, Kelly Wilson, said: “The majority of gins in the festival have not been available in the pub beforehand and I am looking forward to serving them. The festival promises to be great fun and I am certain that our customers will enjoy trying the superb range of gins that we have on offer.”

The Maritime Gin Festival will see distillers to host sessions including Lonewolf, Bullards, HMS and The Heart of Suffolk.

Gins available at The Cricketers include Single Dry Gin, Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin, Wrecking Coast Clotted Cream Gin, Brecon Special Reserve, Finni’s Black Bee Gin and Bathtub Gin.

Visitors to both events will be served gins in a special ‘copa’ glass, which is bulbous in shape, and is said to be perfect for drinking gin and tonic.

Visit beerandco.uk/ipswich-maritime-gin-festival/ for more information about the Maritime event.