Punters at Cheltenham Festival can buy a 'special' pint of Guinness... for £20!
This year's festival started on Tuesday and will last for four days, with the Gold Cup pencilled in for Friday. More than 300,000 pints of Guinness are expected to be supped between now and the weekend, as thousands of spectators attend the iconic event.
Pints of Guinness at the Cheltenham Festival are already expensive - priced at £7.50 - but this year's event features a unique offering. Online bookies Fitzdares have launched their own pint, which is said to be a "perfect blend" between sparkling wine and Guinness.
Fitzdares have described their beverage as the "world's most expensive" pint of Guinness. They also claim it is the "finest" pint of Guinness punters will ever try.
William Woodhams, the chief executive of Fitzdares, launched the drink to "celebrate" the government's post-Brexit Northern Ireland trade deal with the European Union, known as the Windsor Framework. The agreement was announced at the end of February.
Woodhams also wants to hit back at those punters who moan about the price of Guinness. The cost of the famous drink is a talking point at the festival each year. "Every year there is more and more controversy around the cost of Guinness at the Cheltenham Festival and frankly we were bored of it," said Woodhams, as quoted by the Irish Mirror.
Would you pay £20 for a pint of Guinness? Let us know in the comments below!
"So, to gently rib the complainers and celebrate recent political manoeuvres we have created the world’s most expensive - and finest - pint of the black stuff with a mix of premium English sparkling wine and Guinness brewed in Dublin.
"Isn’t it the perfect way to celebrate free trade between our two great nations and the Windsor protocol? The Irish visitors to Cheltenham can afford it with their strong currency. Yours for £20."
Around 274,000 spectators are expected to travel to Cheltenham for the festival, which is one of the biggest horse racing events in the UK. It's believed more than 20,000 of those fans will be flying over from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
As such, many people will be looking forward to celebrating St Patrick's Day - which is takes on Friday - with a pint of Guinness. Punters will be allowed to pour their own pints at this year's festival after the launch of a unique bar (no, they won't cost £20).
"By installing this technology we’ve been able to increase the number of pumps from 16 to 28 in the Cottage Rake bar, reducing the queuing time in the process," Simon Hanna, Jockey Club Catering's regional director for Cheltenham and the South West, told The Sun.
"For anyone using these taps for the first time we still have experienced and skilled team members in the bar to help them and we’re looking forward to more racegoers taking the opportunity to pour themselves a pint at The Festival next month."
