Halloween Fancy Dress Party

The Portsmouth Distillery is hosting a Halloween fancy dress party on Saturday 31 October, with Astromoda and DJ Mike Jackson on the music. It's part of the Music @ The Fort series, and the whole thing takes place inside the walls of Fort Cumberland at Eastney Point in Southsea, where the distillery has been based since 2018. Fancy dress is encouraged, and there's a prize for the best costume, so it's worth putting some thought into what you wear.

If you've never been, the distillery is an award-winning artisan producer of premium spirits, and the fort itself is open for guided tours, with a shop and a bar on-site. Their core range is built around gin: Fort Gin uses locally foraged botanicals like elderflower, gorse flower and sea radish, while Tudor Gin is based on a 16th-century recipe found on the Mary Rose, with a donation from every bottle sold going to the Mary Rose Trust. The rums run from the 1968 White Rum and Cinnabar Spiced Rum up to 1812, aged three years in Bourbon casks, and 1747, England's first five-year-aged rum.

Between the music and the drinks, you can explore the fort on a guided tour, browse the shop and have a drink at the bar. The party runs from 6:30pm to 11pm, with doors opening at 6:30pm, and tickets are £10 per person.