Pomp, Pageantry and a nip of Gin in colonial splendour revives the Legendary Cannonball run at Galle Face Hotel
Galle Face Hotel hosted the eagerly-awaited Cannonball Run on 18th March 2016 in high spirits with the exclusive Colombo Gin taking centre-stage at the high-profile event, which was attended by many of the glitterati and the literati of Colombo society, corporate world and diplomatic community. The Galle Face Hotel and Colombo Gin have strong synergies, both tracing their origins to the British colonial era. This event was characterized by pomp and pageantry which showcased a procession of runners, cannonball bearers and flag bearers.
The Cannonball Run is an annual event that celebrates friendly rivalry, this year between Germany and France. French Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jean-Marin Schuh and German Ambassador Juergen Morhard were the two adversaries for the evening. The event ended with participants relaxing with a Colombo gin and a glass of wine amid warm camaraderie. This year’s Master of the Cannon was none other than the Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs and Minister of Lands Hon. John Amaratunga.
The grandeur and old-world charm of the event necessitated that it associate itself with heritage spirits and Colombo Gin seemed an apt complement to the grand event. Colombo Gin is manufactured by Rockland Distillers, a respected spirits company that offers world-class beverages. Rockland stands for the values of strength, perseverance and heritage, while Colombo Gin’s logo signifies wisdom and courage as denoted by the elephant and the lion.
The Cannonball Run is an annual tradition celebrated on the Galle Face Green, to commemorate the extraordinary incident of a misfired cannonball by a member of the British Artillery in 1845. The 30-pound cannon had misfired during a practice session around the southern ramparts of the Colombo Fort, crashing through the roof of Galle Face Hotel, leaving a heavy dent on the drawing room floor where it came to rest under a chair. The cannon ball is at present preserved in the museum located in the South Wing of the hotel. An annual run has been held since, which begins at the cannon on the Fort end of the Green and ends at the cannonball placed on a pedestal in the hotel.
The runners are generally members of the diplomatic community, who, over the years have included the likes of the American Ambassador Robert O’ Blake and the British High Commissioner Peter Hayes (2008), Maldivian Ambassador Ali Hussein Didi and Russian Ambassador Vladimir P Mikhaylov (2010), French Ambassador Christine Robichon and Norwegian Ambassador Hilde Haraldstad (2011), Canadian High Commissioner Bruce Levy and British High Commissioner John Rankin (2012) to name a few.
The Galle Face Hotel symbolizes the grace of a time gone past and the Cannonball Run serves as a wonderful throwback event to celebrate the hotel’s rich history and heritage. In a similar vein, Colombo Gin too has its roots in the colonial era. In the days of old Ceylon, British Excise Officers did not believe that a good London Gin could be produced outside of the UK. Despite this, a young Asian distiller pursued the idea of creating a gin in Ceylon’s public gardens. His efforts paid off; new regulations were drafted to allow the manufacture of gin in Colombo.
Given the lack of foreign spices during the war, our distiller’s gin recipe at the time included native ingredients that were easily sourced at Colombo’s Cinnamon Gardens. The only imported spices in the recipe were juniper and angelica root. Once war was over and trade routes reopened, the original mix of ingredients was abandoned in favour of the traditional London dry gin recipe. Today, Colombo Gin has returned to its original wartime recipe, created through a combination of historical events and one man’s passion for a beautiful spice garden.
