Hensol Castle Distillery launches first own-name gin

The Hensol Castle Distillery in South Wales has launched its first own-name gin.

Hensol Castle Welsh Dry Gin is made with 11 locally sourced botanicals, including lavender, marigold and jasmine picked from the 400-year-old castle’s walled gardens. It is copper-pot distilled in small batches by Hensol Castle’s four-strong team of distillers, and is bottled and labelled by hand on site.

The distillery team recommends serving the spirit with premium tonic and garnishing with a slice of grapefruit, lemon or lime to complement its citrus notes.

Head distiller Dai Wakely, who joined the distillery in July 2021 to spearhead new product development, says the new gin was inspired by the history of the castle and the surrounding parklands.

“I wanted to ensure there were authentic home-grown flavours in every glass, and myself and the team have poured a lot of love and hard work into ensuring that’s the case – along with the best Welsh water and ingredients we’ve hand foraged from the castle grounds,” he said.

Launched in 2019, Hensol Castle Distillery is South Wales’ first full-scale distillery and contract bottling plant. Prior to the release of its own-name gin, it launched an on-trade collection of Benjamin Hall gins and vodkas as well as the Trulo range of low-calorie liqueurs. The distillery has also recently opened a visitor experience and gin school.

Christopher Leeke, managing director of Hensol Castle Distillery, said: “We always believed in our vision for this gin and spirit distillery, which is the only one to be housed in a UK Grade I-listed building, but it required a lot of hard work, love and perseverance to get to this point. In many ways, the launch of our first own-name gin is the culmination of that journey.”

Hensol Castle Welsh Dry Gin is currently available exclusively from the distillery’s online shop, priced at £30 for a 700ml bottle.