It’s easy to say, “Seen one distillery, seen ’em all,” but when the opportunity comes to explore a historic operation like Beefeater Gin, you have to take it. Thankfully, they’ve just received permission to open London’s first-ever gin distillery visitor center.
“We have decided to push open the doors for the very first time and share some of those secrets with visitors to London, and locals, who are interested in seeing just how much expertise goes into making one of London’s most successful and famous brands.”
I had the pleasure of spending several days in London with Beefeater and Master Distiller Desmond Payne. That was back when the visitor center was just a twinkle in Desmond’s eye, but I have a feeling that the experience will likely be very much the same. If the process doesn’t interest you, which it should, the sheer scale of things might. That is, unless you’re already fimiliar with stills that are multiple stories high.
If you ever find your way to foggy London town, you won’t be disappointed with a swing by distillery. You know what is a let down though? How small the statue of Paddington Bear is at the train station.