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We’ve taken beer lovers on brewery tours across the region. Now, we’re giving you the chance for a true gin experience with Yorkshire’s premium gin distillery tours. Visit three small, independent gin distilleries, each with a unique approach to distilling and their own signature flavored gins, including the famous Yorkshire favourite, rhubarb gin.
With only small group tours (taking six to eight), you have chance to get a really close look at how each gin distiller crafts their specialty gin, with samples to taste and bottles to purchase and take home. During your gin journey, you get three guided gin tours, transport to and from York station, and your own gin sampling, all for just £80 per person. For larger groups, such as hen parties, drop us an email and we’ll be happy to give you a quote.
After your gin distillery tour, finish your day with an elegant gin afternoon tea at York’s renowned Grays Court hotel and restaurant. Add this luxury for an additional charge — the perfect gin gift for any gin tasting enthusiast.
Cooper King Distillery is England’s only self-built whiskey and gin distillery. Independently-run and family-owned, the distillery prides itself on whiskey and gin experiences built on skilled craftsmanship, honesty, and adventure.
Cooper King Distillery’s origins lie across the globe. Dr Abbie Neilson, a former scientist, and Chris Jaume, previously a chartered architect, decided to leave the rat-race and travel around the world. They became fascinated with the eight operational whiskey distilleries they visited in Tasmania and knew they wanted to bring their discoveries back to England. They left their established careers behind and, in 2016, founded Cooper King Distillery: bringing the whisky and gin experience to Yorkshire.
Abbie and Chris’ respective backgrounds allowed them to build their unique micro-distillery on the site of a stable in Sutton-on-the-Forest. They’re proud to welcome gin distillery tours, giving you the chance to see their individual gin creation processes first hand. The recently-launched Cooper King Dry Gin is hand-distilled, with honey from their own beehives and a touch of locally-grown lavender, making an excellent sipping gin.
Cooper King Distillery is one of only a handful in the country to run on 100% green energy. For every bottle of Cooper King Dry Gin sold, one square metre of woodland is planted through the gin distillery’s Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust partnership, making it the first gin in Europe with 1% for the Planet® accreditation.
Rarebird Distillery opened in October 2017 and produces premium, small-batch gin. Your gin tasting experience takes you to this micro-distillery in the North Yorkshire market town of Malton, where your group tour will be able to see the gin creation process, from flavor formulation to those all-important samples.
Experimenting with flavours is what Rare Bird Distillery’s owner, Matt Stewart, and his wife Elizabeth, love, and they’ve spent several years refining their now-signature London Dry Gin. Seven months later, their new, hugely-popular range includes rhubarb and ginger gin: a firm favourite.
On your gin tour, you’ll be introduced to Florence: a 300-litre copper sill from which every bottle of Rare Bird Gin is produced. In fact, every stage of the gin creation process is done at the Malton distillery – creating flavours, distillation, bottling, labelling, and retail sales – giving you the true gin experience.
Matt built the bespoke distillery himself as a new challenge following a 30-year firefighting career and is proud to host North Yorkshire’s first gin school to share his passion for distilling with others. He’s perfectly placed to take gin tour groups around the distillery, showing you how gin is made. You’ll then have the opportunity to work on a 1.5-litre sill and create your own unique flavour of gin, which will be bottled, labelled, and sealed for you to take home (this is NOT part of the tour).
Historic Barmby Moor House in Pocklington is home to Hooting Owl Distillery: an artisan distiller of craft gin. Barmby Moor House has a long history: from its origin as the Bunch of Grapes, and later the Wilmer Arms, this elegant Georgian house was a famous coaching inn during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Now a family home and the place of The Hooting Owl Distillery, Barmby Moor House’s rich history gives our gin group tours a gin tasting experience to remember. The distillery produces London Dry Gin, which is macerated and then distilled. On your gin tour, you’ll have the chance to see the process for yourself, as the botanicals are macerated in a 96% ABV Neutral spirit from grain.
The botanicals are carefully chosen for consistent flavor, with season differences counterbalanced to produce a trusted, consistent taste, which you’ll be able to sample on the tour. You’ll also have the opportunity for a unique end to your gin tasting experience, with a bespoke gin created just for you. However, the distillery will keep their recipe a closely-guarded secret!
Join us at the end of your gin experience for a sumptuous homemade gin afternoon tea at Grays Court Hotel, York. You’ll be dining in the 2 AA Rosette The Bow Room Restaurant (the original hidden gem), which dates back to 1080 and is nestled in the heart of York’s exclusive Minster Quarter. (Optional extra)
Take the chance to sit back and relax after a day of gin tasting at Yorkshire’s finest distilleries. Our famous gin afternoon teas are the perfect ending to your tour, with our selection of sandwiches and cakes complementing the flavors you’ve sampled throughout the day.
Finish your gin tour in style by booking a night’s stay at Grays Court. The hotel boasts eleven tastefully-decorated en-suite rooms, each with beautiful views. Choose from a window to the internal courtyard or private gardens, or a view of York Minster itself. Unwind from the day’s gin tour in your luxurious bathroom, stocked with Clarins toiletries, or continue your gin afternoon tea experience with a drink outside in the stunning gardens or one of the comfortable, Jacobean-panelled indoor lounges.
