Meet one of Britain's youngest master distillers

Wilson found his new appreciation for gin in Brighton, where he trained in flair bartending during a five-day-course at Mixology Group. He was studying engineering at university but had always enjoyed mixing drinks and he'd established his own pop-up bartending business in his twenties, between semesters. "Suddenly my eyes were opened to the variation and flavour in all these different gins. It blew away the cobwebs off that Bombay Sapphire," he says.

Since then, his obsession has grown and has now completely taken over his life. He left behind dreams of building Formula One cars and began his career working in spirits at Masons of Yorkshire. "I love spirits and cocktails and all the flavours, but I also love engineering and working with my hands, so distilling is the perfect blend. It's got that creative side, but it's also got the problem-solving and mathematics elements, too."

After working his way up quickly to head distiller, then gaining experience at tiny boutique distilleries as well as huge, commercial operations over the past seven years, he's now the master distiller and proud owner of Henley Distillery, where he uses that engineering background to craft small-batch gins.

"I always relate the processes of gin to that Formula One design mentality. If a designer can put something on a Formula One car that'll make it 0.01 seconds quicker round a lap, it's going to go on. If they can make 10 tiny adjustments like that, that's 0.1 seconds faster in total, which is huge in Formula One. I treat gin the same way."

That's why, he says, everything is judged by taste rather than traditional measurements; where most distilleries will syphon off the "heads" and "tails" (the less pure parts of the distilled spirit) by measuring how much has come out of the still so far, Wilson will try the gin at regular intervals to get that sweet spot right every single time.

Spirited away

At just 27 years old, Wilson is one of the youngest master distillers in the country, but you wouldn't know it from speaking to him. He's filled with talk of business plans, five-year goals and KPIs. Prior to launching Henley Distillery, which was five years in the making by 2021, he knew exactly what he wanted to achieve and how he'd do it, but then Covid hit. The original business model – a town-centre location with a small still and enough space for a visitor centre for gin masterclasses – suddenly felt untenable. Progress stalled while lockdowns were ongoing, and the original plan was flipped on its head.

Wilson worked as a spirit consultant for various brands during 2020, helping big names find the right flavours to convey their message in a bottle, and then matching them to an outfit that could produce it. This is called contract distilling, and how Henley Distillery got its big break.

"When I told my consultancy clients I was setting up my own distillery, they all said ‘Oh, brilliant! When it's ready, we'll switch our production to you.' So when I had the third or fourth conversation like that with a client, I realised my original plan for a 50-litre still wasn't going to cut it."

The orders racked up, and Henley Distillery launched two 300-litre copper stills, handmade from Portugal and named after Wilson's grandfathers, which can now produce 3,500 single shot (no added alcohol) bottles per week from the 17th-century barn in the Oxfordshire countryside.

The company has created bespoke gins for the likes of Virgin Wines and gaming company Jagex, while also launching a trio of its own award-winning gins – the most recent accolades at the World Gin Awards 2022 for its London Dry Gin. The experiential aspect of the business is still yet to come, with plans for a second converted barn to open as a gin masterclass room in spring. And, most importantly, it will turn a profit in its first financial year.

Wilson won't let this go to his head, though. It is, after all, a family business: his father invested heavily in its beginnings and now works there full-time, either sitting behind a desk or building new facilities like pallet racking or industrial-scale spice cupboards (his former career as a sculptor has meant he's been hands-on in the barns). Wilson's mother is a baker and he's roped her into creating some of the flavours that go into the gins, including the rhubarb syrup in the rhubarb and orange pink gin, and his partner, a former dance choreographer, is choreographing the production lines in the bottling room, where each label is hand-stuck and signed by a member of the team.

Ultimately, Wilson vows it will always remain a small-batch production facility with quality and flavour at the forefront of its mission. "We might grow in various ways, but everything will always be done by hand."

Creating a branded drinks campaign

Gin has firmly cemented itself as one of the nation's favourite spirits, so creating your very own gin to help bolster your brand story is a fun way to engage customers, says Wilson. Here's what you need to know:

Why do it?

"It's great for corporate gifting and it's a fantastic way to get your brand personality across," says Wilson. "But also it's such a big market, and such a well-loved market, and people are always looking to try something new. That's why there's been such a massive explosion in craft gins in recent years – gin lovers love to try new gins."

How does it work?

There are various types of contract distilling, ranging from pre-made white-label spirits you can stick your own label on, to completely bespoke creations with your input and a consulting distiller. Henley Distillery offer both options, with a London Dry gin available for bottling and labelling, or alternatively, Wilson himself will help you choose the right flavours for your brand, create a few samples for you to try, and then distil 350 bottles of your chosen gin for you to label and sell as you wish.

How much does it cost?

The simplest white-label version costs £624 plus VAT for a minimum of 24 bottles, while the full bespoke service is likely to cost around £5,400 plus VAT for 300 bottles (both costs exclude the price of the bottle itself and the label).