Food & Drink

Top 20 Gin Distilleries in the UK

The UK has long been at the heart of the global gin renaissance, with distilleries spanning from the cobblestone streets of London to the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands and the lush valleys of Wales. Whether you prefer a classic London Dry, a contemporary botanical blend, or a small-batch craft spirit infused with local ingredients, the UK offers an extraordinary range of gin experiences. Many of these distilleries welcome visitors for behind-the-scenes tours, hands-on masterclasses, and guided tastings that reveal the art and science behind every bottle. Here are the top 20 gin distilleries in the UK that every gin enthusiast should know about.

1. Sipsmith Distillery

  • Description: Sipsmith is widely credited with reviving the craft distilling movement in London. Founded in 2009, it was the first copper pot distillery to open in London in nearly 200 years. Their flagship London Dry Gin is a beautifully balanced spirit with bold juniper, zesty citrus, and floral notes that have earned it a devoted global following.

  • Location: Chiswick, London

  • Popularity: One of the most recognised craft gin brands in the world, stocked in premium bars and restaurants across more than 30 countries.

  • Special Features: Offers intimate distillery tours where visitors can meet the copper stills named Prudence, Patience, and Constance, followed by guided tastings of their full range.

  • Link: Sipsmith Distillery

2. Hendrick's Gin Distillery

  • Description: Hendrick's is famous for its unconventional infusion of cucumber and Bulgarian rose petals, which gives it a distinctively smooth and refreshing character. Produced at the Girvan distillery in Scotland, Hendrick's has become a global icon of inventive gin-making.

  • Location: Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland

  • Popularity: Sold in over 80 countries, Hendrick's is one of the best-selling premium gins worldwide and a staple in cocktail bars everywhere.

  • Special Features: The Hendrick's Gin Palace offers immersive tours through whimsical, Victorian-inspired spaces, along with cocktail masterclasses and seasonal limited-edition releases.

  • Link: Hendrick's Gin

3. Beefeater Distillery

  • Description: Beefeater is one of the last remaining gin brands still distilled in London, with a heritage stretching back to 1863. Their classic London Dry Gin uses a time-honoured recipe of nine botanicals steeped for 24 hours before distillation, resulting in a bold, juniper-forward spirit.

  • Location: Kennington, London

  • Popularity: The world's most awarded gin, with consistent recognition at international spirits competitions and a presence in bars across the globe.

  • Special Features: The Beefeater Distillery offers interactive tours that explore the history of gin in London, a botanical garden, and a gin school where visitors can create their own bespoke blend.

  • Link: Beefeater Gin

4. Silent Pool Distillers

  • Description: Nestled on the stunning Albury Estate in the Surrey Hills, Silent Pool produces an exquisitely crafted gin using 24 botanicals including local honey, lavender, and chamomile. The result is a complex, layered spirit with a silky mouthfeel and elegant floral finish.

  • Location: Albury, Surrey

  • Popularity: Highly regarded among premium gin connoisseurs and frequently featured in luxury lifestyle publications.

  • Special Features: Visitors can enjoy tours of the picturesque lakeside distillery, participate in gin blending experiences, and explore the surrounding ancient woodland and the mystical Silent Pool itself.

  • Link: Silent Pool Distillers

5. The Botanist Distillery (Bruichladdich)

  • Description: Produced on the Isle of Islay at the Bruichladdich distillery, The Botanist is a remarkable gin that uses 22 hand-foraged local botanicals gathered from the hills, peat bogs, and shores of the island alongside nine core gin aromatics. It captures the wild essence of Islay in every sip.

  • Location: Isle of Islay, Scotland

  • Popularity: Widely praised by spirits critics and bartenders alike for its complexity and sense of place, earning numerous awards at international competitions.

  • Special Features: Distillery tours offer a rare opportunity to learn about the island's unique terroir, the foraging process, and the slow distillation method using the unique Lomond still named Ugly Betty.

  • Link: The Botanist

6. Edinburgh Gin Distillery

  • Description: Located in the heart of Scotland's capital, Edinburgh Gin has been crafting award-winning spirits since 2010. Their core range features a classic gin alongside innovative flavoured expressions including rhubarb and ginger, and seaside gin.

  • Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Popularity: One of Scotland's most popular gin brands with a strong visitor attraction drawing thousands of tourists annually to its city-centre distillery.

  • Special Features: The distillery offers Gin Making Experiences where guests can create their own 70cl bottle, along with a stylish cocktail bar called Heads & Tales located beneath the main distillery.

  • Link: Edinburgh Gin

7. Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill

  • Description: Bombay Sapphire transformed the historic Laverstoke Mill into a world-class distillery and visitor experience. Their gin is vapour-infused with ten exotic botanicals sourced from around the world, producing a bright, aromatic spirit with a smooth and complex profile.

  • Location: Laverstoke, Hampshire

  • Popularity: One of the top-selling premium gin brands globally, available in over 120 countries.

  • Special Features: The stunning Thomas Heatherwick-designed glasshouses showcase the live botanical ingredients, while immersive tours and cocktail masterclasses make it one of the UK's finest spirits tourism destinations.

  • Link: Bombay Sapphire

8. Tarquin's Gin (Southwestern Distillery)

  • Description: Tarquin Leadbetter founded this distillery in 2012 in a farmstead on the North Cornish coast, making it Cornwall's first gin distillery since the 19th century. Tarquin's Cornish Dry Gin uses fresh Devon violets and handpicked local botanicals for a vibrant and aromatic spirit.

  • Location: Padstow, Cornwall

  • Popularity: Multi-award-winning, including World's Best London Dry Gin at the World Gin Awards, earning widespread recognition in the UK and beyond.

  • Special Features: Small-batch production using a flame-fired copper pot still, with distillery tours offering insight into the hands-on, artisanal process and the coastal inspiration behind each bottle.

  • Link: Tarquin's Gin

9. Whitley Neill Distillery (City of London Distillery)

  • Description: Created by Johnny Neill, a descendant of the Greenall's gin dynasty, Whitley Neill draws on family heritage and global botanical inspiration. The original expression features African baobab and Cape gooseberry, while an extensive flavoured range has made it one of the UK's fastest-growing gin brands.

  • Location: London (produced in Liverpool)

  • Popularity: The UK's number one premium gin brand by sales volume, with a flavoured range that has dominated the market in recent years.

  • Special Features: The City of London Distillery on Bride Lane offers tours, tastings, and a gin bar where visitors can sample the full portfolio alongside exclusive distillery-only bottlings.

  • Link: Whitley Neill

10. Chase Distillery

  • Description: Chase is a true field-to-bottle operation, growing their own potatoes and apples on the family farm to create the base spirit before distilling their gin. Their GB Extra Dry Gin is crisp and clean with a wonderfully smooth texture derived from the apple and potato spirit base.

  • Location: Herefordshire, England

  • Popularity: A pioneer of the British farm distillery movement, Chase has won numerous awards including World's Best Gin at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

  • Special Features: Farm tours take visitors through the entire process from potato field to bottle, with tastings in the atmospheric barn and opportunities to sample their vodka and apple brandy ranges.

  • Link: Chase Distillery

11. Salcombe Gin Distillery

  • Description: Inspired by the sailing heritage of Salcombe in South Devon, this coastal distillery produces beautifully refined gins using thirteen carefully selected botanicals. Their flagship Start Point is a smooth, citrus-led gin that evokes the fresh coastal breezes of the Devon shoreline.

  • Location: Salcombe, Devon

  • Popularity: Rapidly growing premium brand with strong recognition in the south-west and increasingly across the UK, winning multiple Great Taste Awards.

  • Special Features: The Gin School experience allows visitors to distil their own bottle using a miniature copper still, while the harbourside bar offers cocktails with stunning estuary views.

  • Link: Salcombe Gin

12. Liverpool Gin Distillery

  • Description: Liverpool Gin is an organic gin distilled using a unique process that includes both vapour infusion and direct steeping of botanicals. The result is a wonderfully balanced, juniper-forward spirit with a complex herbal and citrus character.

  • Location: Liverpool, Merseyside

  • Popularity: Award-winning organic gin with a strong local following and growing national profile, recognised at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.

  • Special Features: The distillery is located in a beautifully converted space in Liverpool's thriving Baltic Triangle district, offering tours, tastings, and a gin making experience in an atmospheric urban setting.

  • Link: Liverpool Gin

13. Cotswolds Distillery

  • Description: The Cotswolds Distillery produces a wonderfully aromatic gin made with a blend of nine carefully chosen botanicals including locally grown lavender from the surrounding countryside. It is unfiltered, giving it a distinctive pearlescent cloudiness when ice or tonic is added.

  • Location: Stourton, Cotswolds, Oxfordshire

  • Popularity: One of the most acclaimed English gin producers, winning gold medals at major spirits awards and praised for showcasing the character of the Cotswolds region.

  • Special Features: Visitors can enjoy guided tours of the purpose-built distillery, experience tutored tastings, and browse the well-stocked shop. The distillery also produces acclaimed whisky and liqueurs.

  • Link: Cotswolds Distillery

14. Aber Falls Distillery

  • Description: Aber Falls is a Welsh distillery situated near the spectacular Aber Falls waterfall in Snowdonia. Their gin range includes a classic Welsh Dry Gin alongside innovative expressions featuring locally sourced ingredients such as orange marmalade and rhubarb and ginger.

  • Location: Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, Wales

  • Popularity: A leading Welsh spirits brand that has quickly established itself with multiple awards and a growing reputation for quality and innovation.

  • Special Features: The visitor centre offers tours through the impressive modern distillery, tastings of the full spirits range, and magnificent views of the Snowdonia mountains and Menai Strait.

  • Link: Aber Falls

15. Hayman's Distillery

  • Description: Hayman's is one of the oldest gin families in England, with a heritage dating back to 1863. They are renowned for producing traditional-style gins without any modern shortcuts, including their outstanding London Dry Gin, Old Tom, and Sloe Gin.

  • Location: Balham, London

  • Popularity: Hugely respected within the spirits industry as a benchmark for quality and authenticity, with strong sales across the UK, US, and Europe.

  • Special Features: The distillery offers tours that delve into the family's five generations of gin-making heritage, with guided tastings that explore the differences between London Dry, Old Tom, and Royal Dock Navy Strength styles.

  • Link: Hayman's Gin

16. The Lakes Distillery

  • Description: Set in a beautifully restored Victorian farmstead on the edge of Bassenthwaite Lake, The Lakes Distillery produces a smooth and fragrant gin using botanicals that reflect the Lake District landscape, including juniper, bilberry, and meadowsweet.

  • Location: Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria

  • Popularity: A popular visitor attraction and award-winning distillery that has become one of the premier spirits destinations in northern England.

  • Special Features: Guided distillery tours, a bistro restaurant serving local cuisine, and a well-stocked shop. The distillery also produces acclaimed whisky and vodka in the same stunning location.

  • Link: The Lakes Distillery

17. Warner's Distillery

  • Description: Warner's operates from Falls Farm in Northamptonshire, where they grow many of their own botanicals on the 200-acre estate. Their range includes a classic London Dry alongside creative expressions like Rhubarb Gin made with rhubarb from the farm and Honeybee Gin made with honey from their own hives.

  • Location: Harrington, Northamptonshire

  • Popularity: B Corp certified and award-winning, Warner's has built a loyal following among consumers who value sustainability and provenance alongside exceptional flavour.

  • Special Features: Farm tours offer a genuine field-to-bottle experience, with botanical garden walks, distillery visits, and guided tastings. The on-site shop stocks exclusive farm-only releases.

  • Link: Warner's Distillery

18. Adnams Copper House Distillery

  • Description: Adnams, the beloved Southwold brewery, expanded into spirits with their Copper House Distillery in 2010. Their Copper House Gin is a beautifully balanced, grain-to-glass spirit distilled using locally grown East Anglian barley and six carefully selected botanicals.

  • Location: Southwold, Suffolk

  • Popularity: Adnams has leveraged its strong brand heritage to build a highly successful spirits division, winning numerous industry awards and earning a loyal customer base across the UK.

  • Special Features: Tours of the brewery and distillery provide a comprehensive look at the entire production process, from grain to glass. The Adnams shop and cellar and kitchen restaurant complete the visitor experience.

  • Link: Adnams

19. Pickering's Gin (Summerhall Distillery)

  • Description: Pickering's Gin is distilled at Summerhall in Edinburgh, in what was formerly the Royal Dick Veterinary College. Their gin is based on a handwritten recipe from 1947 and features a warming, spice-led profile with notes of cardamom, clove, and fennel seed.

  • Location: Summerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Popularity: Multi-award-winning gin with cult status in Edinburgh and strong sales across the UK, particularly known for their iconic festive Gin Baubles which have become a Christmas sensation.

  • Special Features: Located within the vibrant Summerhall arts complex, the distillery offers tours and tastings in a unique cultural setting, with regular events combining gin, art, and performance.

  • Link: Pickering's Gin

20. Dyfi Distillery

  • Description: Dyfi Distillery is an artisan Welsh producer located within the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere Reserve. Their Pollination Gin uses foraged botanicals gathered by hand from the surrounding wildflower meadows, hedgerows, and riverbanks, creating a spirit that truly captures its environment.

  • Location: Corris, Machynlleth, Wales

  • Popularity: Acclaimed as one of the finest small-batch gins in the UK, winning World's Best Gin at the World Gin Awards and earning praise from critics for its remarkable sense of place.

  • Special Features: Small-scale production with a deep commitment to biodiversity and sustainability. Visits can be arranged to learn about the unique foraging-led approach and to sample their limited-production spirits.

  • Link: Dyfi Distillery

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