Craft distillery expands on back of investment boost

Small-batch craft distiller Durham Gin is set to boost production and launch its first whisky after receiving a cash injection from a local business fund.

The distillery, which was founded in 2014, has seen a £250,000 investment from the Finance Durham Fund, a fund set up by the business innovation wing of Durham County Council and managed by private equity firm Maven Capital Partners. It is the first business in the area to benefit from the £20m pot.

The gin and vodka producer has been based in Langley Park since 2014, but is planning to relocate to a new site in the centre of Durham in order to boost its capacity and build its own visitor centre. Currently, the spirits are made in small batches in a 400 Litre copper pot still, with each run producing a few hundred bottles at a time, which are then bottled and hand-labeled.

It is also planning to launch its first whisky, Durham Whisky, which will be available by 2021, although bottles can be pre-ordered in advanced. The whisky, the first to be made in the North East, is being made by the distillery’s’ head distiller, Jessica Tomlinson.

Currently, the distillery’s gin and vodka is sold in upmarket department store Fenwicks and Majestic Wines, as well as in regional stores across the North East.