A celebration of gin took place at The Great Hall when Winchester held its second Ginchester Fete on World Gin Day.

Organised by the café and bar The Cabinet Rooms, this year’s Ginchester was even more of a success than last year.

Over 500 gin lovers turned up this year compared to last year’s 200, when it was held at the City Mill.

The new mayor of Winchester Cllr David McClean cut the ribbon and opened the event.

As well as plenty of gin stalls, there were food stalls from local producers , village fete style games and The Cabinet Rooms had a bar underneath The Round Table.

There were gins on show from seven distilleries from Hampshire, Dorset and Isle of Wight as well as from further afield and around the world. These local distilleries included Winchester Distillery based in Alresford but originally from the city, Bombay Sapphire from Laverstoke, The Hiltinbury Still from Hiltinbury near Eastleigh, Pothecary and Conker Spirit both from Dorset, Gorilla Spirits from Four Marks and the Isle of Wight Distillery.

The fete showcased Hampshire’s newest gin, Winchester Gin from the Winchester Distillery, makers of the famous Twisted Nose gin which includes watercress as an ingredient.

The new Winchester Gin includes according to its makers a secret blend of 14 ‘ancient herbs and spices, some forgotten but commonly used in medieval England’.

The Cabinet Rooms served a new gin cocktail, called Thyme of Arthur, using the new gin plus orange juice and fresh thyme which they say makes a refreshing summer drink.

Gary Whiter, co-owner of The Cabinet Rooms said: “It all went really well. We had over 500 gin lovers coming to the Great Hall. It is our second year but this is bigger. The mayor opened it and said he was delighted by local businesses working together to make such a great day. We’d love to do it again at the Great Hall next year.”

Gary and his partner Marcus Roe officially opened their new café bar on Jewry Street on Monday June 5, prior to that the Cabinet Rooms didn’t have a permanent venue in the city.

This year's Ginchester Fete was sponsored by Winchester Distillery, Fever Tree Tonic, and Winchester City Council.