Imagine drinking gin for a living. Going round talking to gin experts, experimenting with gin, making cakes with gin, making videos about gin. Sounds like the stuff of dreams, right? Well, it's very much a reality for ILoveGin's 'Gintern', Holly Harwood.
"I'm the person that gets to go round all these different distilleries, drinking lots of gin, trying gins, going to different places and distilleries and ultimately just being on the search for great gins around the country," she told LADBible.
The job was advertised on their website simply as 'Travel, Drink Gin, Get Paid: the world's best internship' - obviously went viral very quickly. They ended up receiving 5,000 applications.
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The role required someone who loved gin and knew their G down to a T.
They would be paid up to £20,000 to travel the country visiting gin companies and tasting new gins.
"It was this sort of viral role that went everywhere saying 'this is the best job in the world for gin lovers' and I think like most people I questioned whether it was even a real job," Holly said.
She was one of the final eight who made it to the last round: a day of making and discussing gin in Notting Hill, London.
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Unfortunately for Holly, she initially didn't get the job, narrowly losing out to the first Gintern.
But after she decided to move on elsewhere in the industry, the door opened for Holly who received a phone call from the ILoveGin team, who she'd kept in contact with. Goes to show it's always worth staying in touch.
"Now I get to go around meeting all these great people and experimenting with gins," she said.
"The only problem is people tend to think I'm a bit of an alcoholic."
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In fact, Holly says the dream part of the job - getting free boxes of gin through the door and drinking gin 24/7 - is actually one of the main issues with it.
"I think my postman thinks I have a little bit of a problem with gin," she said.
"He brings me an awful lot of gin and the other day he was like "I've got another box of gin for you here" and I just had to say 'It is my job, don't worry'."
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But Holly, who is bringing out her own gin, 'Holly's Gin', at the end of the year, says she loves her job, including making videos of her experiments with gin for the ILoveGin YouTube channel.
And she loves being a part of the gin industry (or the "gindustry", if you like. No?).
"I have such a passion for gin. Honestly, I just love experiencing new gins, trying them and meeting great people.
"I've worked in the industry for quite a while - about seven years - and I feel like people are just so nice in the gin industry. I haven't met anyone horrible yet.
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"I do try to keep it professional, it depends what the company you're visiting is like. Some are quite professional, but others are really up for a laugh and want you to try absolutely everything. In those situations you can't help but get a little drunk.'
Well, it sounds like a career change might be in order. That is when Jagermeister bring out their jager bomb internship, anyway.
Words: Nathan Standley
Topics: Food, Drinks, Gin, Community