County Durham based WL Distillery are continuing to make a splash in the gin market after winning a trio of industry awards within a three-month period.
The distillery which was just six months into production of their 1st Edition Gin won Silver at the prestigious 2021 London Spirits Competition, hotly followed by Bronze at the World Gin Awards and Gold at the Gin Masters in June 2021. 2021 has seen a full resurgence of the distillery after a brief halt in production in 2020 to make sanitiser to help charities, emergency services, the NHS and vulnerable individuals. This also led to the founder, Scott Wilson-Laing receiving the UK Business Heroes Stamp from the British Chamber of Commerce UK Business Heroes Scheme for his support during the pandemic, alongside a nomination from the Chamber of Commerce for their up-and-coming Chamber Awards. Scott Wilson-Laing, Founder and Managing Director at WL Distillery said: “As with many businesses the start of the pandemic made 2020 a challenging year, with a refocus in business strategy. We took the decision to halt the initial production and launch of the 1st Edition Gin, it was a difficult decision but the right one due to uncertainty in the market. We wanted to support the community someway and decided to utilise our resources for the production of sanitiser which was at a shortage at the time.” “In follow up to this work I was also honoured to receive the unexpected recognition for our work during the pandemic, so many individuals and companies came together to support others over the months through difficult times. ” The award-winning 1st Edition Gin has been complemented over the months by limited edition festive and Valentine ranges alongside a new refreshing sensation, Wilson’s Gin Club ‘Watermelon and Liquorice’ which is proving to be just the tonic to tantalise the tastebuds of the growing loyal customer base. Scott Wilson-Laing added: “As we move into 2021 we are delighted that our 1st Edition Gin has been awarded a trio of leading industry awards in such a short period of time. We are committed to ensuring a fresh and classic authentic gin experience for customers and these awards demonstrates that the spirits we are making are the kind that bar managers and mixologists want to stock and spirits drinkers enjoy drinking.” With ingredients taking centre stage, WL Distillery take great interest in nature and the beauty that it represents. Each bottle is infused with nature using handpicked, measured botanicals and natural mineral spring water to ensure the freshest, most authentic taste. The distillery is committed to combining their passion for gin with capturing the charm and nature of the region. Crafted in the North East, from start to finish the gins are expertly monitored and created, by hand in the distillery. With in-store presence in Fenwick’s over Christmas and listings in Vogue and GQ magazine, the explosion of flavours from the award-winning distillery continue to be a hit with gin enthusiasts, with orders coming in from across the UK. Scott Wilson-Laing added: The demand for our gin continues to be strong and we have a number of exciting plans in the pipeline and look forward to unveiling these in the coming months