The Sandown Park Racecourse will host the UK's first ever touring gin and rum festival this weekend.

The Gin and Rum Festival 2019 is taking place at the racecourse near Esher on Friday June 21 and Saturday June 22 on its tour of the UK this summer.

Organisers said that "over 60 different gins and 60 different rums" would be available to try at the festival, while live entertainment, a selection of tasty street food will also be on offer for attendees.

Schweppes, the soft drinks company owned by Coca-Cola, were announced as the "official tonic partner" of the 2019 Gin and Rum Festival.

Rosalind Brown, Marketing Manager, Coca Cola GB said, "We’re so excited to be the official sponsor of Gin and Rum festival this year! As gin has been on the rise in recent years, rum is also going through a renaissance – while the classic G and T remains popular, more and more people are choosing rum based cocktails.

"This is the perfect platform for us to show how versatile our mixers can be, and our Schweppes 1783 range offers a wealth of unique flavours which can be paired with different rums and gins alike..."

The founder of The Gin and Rum Festival, Bobby Nanua, meanwhile said: "I am delighted to have launched the UK's very first Gin and Rum Festival.

"We have had a fantastic year in 2018 hosting the festival in over 20 cities, now it is a great pleasure to bring the festival back to over 30 other cities across the UK in 2019."

If you're interested in attending on Friday and/or Saturday, you can purchase tickets at www.ginandrumfestival.com.

Organisers said that ticket prices will include a Copa glass, a Gin and Rum Festival satchel and your all-important Gin and Rum bible, featuring all the drinks featured in the festival.