Gin, Gin - Professional Oldham's taste and a talk

The Professional Oldham business networking group held a gin-tasting night at Gallery Oldham, with a local gin company and Handelsbanken.

The tasting event featured a talk from Paul Sheerin of Defiance Gin, based in Lees, Oldham.

Visitors had a chance to see a British Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition at Gallery Oldham - along with its rooftop garden and panoramic views across Oldham towards Saddleworth.

Suzanne Wright, of Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers, welcomed guests and spoke about Professional Oldham’s growth over the past two years, recalling its’ debut wine tasting night which took place at the nearby Naked Bean Café in the summer of 2016.

Since then she said Professional Oldham has held a range of tours and talks, with drinks and food, at venues across the town.

These have included guided tours of the historic George Street Chapel events centre, the new award-winning Odeon cinema and Oldham’s redeveloped Old Town Hall; a barbecue at Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, an engineering night at Oldham Training Centre, and a visit to the technology-and-crafts group Hack Oldham, which has workshops, studios and desk space at the town’s new Digital Hub on Yorkshire Street.

Handelsbanken Oldham branch manager Scott Parkinson then gave a speech about the bank’s work in the borough and introduced colleagues Chris Ainsworth, Wendy Mawdsley and Nicola Mitchell.

The Oldham branch of Handelsbanken opened at Salmon Field Business Village in 2015.

Since then, its’ staff have become regular attendees at Oldham business and charity events. Earlier this year, Handeslbanken organised a quiz for businesses which raised £1,500 for Madhlo Youth Zone in Oldham.

Mr Parkinson emphasised that Handelsbanken staff do not work on commission or sales targets, making it different to many high street banks.

Its’ structure is devolved, meaning decisions can be made by individual branches which, in some ways, is a more ‘traditional’ approach.

Founded in Sweden 145 years ago, Handelsbanken now operates in 25 countries.

Its’ first UK branch opened in 1982 and it now has over 200 British offices.

It recently opened a Manchester city centre branch after relocating from Manchester Airport.

Then the gin-tasting began.

Paul Sheerin, of Defiance Gin, spoke about the history of gin in Europe and the UK, and how its popularity has shot up in recent years.

He offered a number of different gins to taste, with different ‘botanicals’ for flavour.

These included one flavoured with British strawberries and another Italian gin served with grapefruit.

His own Defiance Gin is made in small batches with ‘botanicals’ gathered across the north of England – Lancashire, Yorkshire – and Scotland.

One of the Defiance gins is navy-strength 57% vol.

Mr Sheerin said he has plans for more gins using very local ingredients from the Pennines and Saddleworth countryside around Oldham.

Oldham Gallery staff including Danielle Hughes were thanked for their assistance and Professional Oldham recommended the museum and art gallery as a great location for events.

Professional Oldham is a non-profit making networking group for local businesses.

It is run by a volunteer steering group with Suzanne Wright of Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers, Bridget Batty of Limetree PR, Stephanie Doherty and Helan Graham, both of Caremark Oldham; Robbie MacDonald of Oldham Business Edge magazine and Cornerstone Design & Marketing; and Dr Kershaw’s Hospice.