A distillery is offering people the chance to make and name their own gin, complete with a personalised label on the bottle.

Maidstone Distillery, which opened in July , already runs informative tours of the site, but has now launched a guided gin making experience.

Customers can make their own gin using a minature copper stills during a two hour session.

With over 50 exotic botanicals to choose from, visitors will create their own unique recipe based on their personal taste.

Reminiscent of a school chemistry lesson, each mini still has its own set of scales to measure the right amount of botanicals and begins with the addition of neutral grain spirit into the still before the distillation process begins.

Once the still reaches the right temperature, cool water helps turn the vapour into gin, which pours neatly out the spout and collected in a beaker.

Darren Graves, co-founder, said; “We love to bring visitors in and show them in detail the fascinating craft of artisan distilling. This experience is informative, friendly and a lot of fun.”

Visitors will be welcomed with a signature George Bishop gin and tonic, made on site, before receiving a presentation on Maidstone Distillery, in Market Buildings, the history of distilling in the County Town and the gin-making process.

Maidstone was famous for producing one of the finest gins in all of Europe in the 18th Century, and cherry brandy, which was beloved by Queen Victoria and accompanied Captain Scott on his Antarctic Expeditions.

Costing £95 for one person, and an extra £25 for a second to share the experience, the gin school is available to book here and takes place on Thursday evenings, starting at 7:00pm.

The business has also been awarded Visit England’s ‘Good to Go’ Covid status, reassuring customers that their visit will be as safe as possible.

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