A tiny distillery in the Coquet Valley collects the wilds of nature and tames them into a spirit with big multi-layered flavours. The making of it is a journey which began in Walter Riddell's native Hepple in north Northumberland with the help of childhood friend - and now food writer - Valentine Warner. In 2013 the business was acquired by the Harry Hotspur group who also merged into it the significant brewing skills and brewery of another local brewer (namely the former VIP Brewery at Hawkhill). In 2018 the business resurrected its 1950’s Glen Aln Whisky, a blend of fine scotch malt and grain whiskies and in 2021 released the now in-demand Lindisfarne Gin. We tend to know our beers, and are proud of our range of top local breweries, but what about other boozy treats? We have the region's only winery - Laneberg Wine in Gateshead - which is a hidden treasure in Team Valley where it takes English grapes and then crushes, processes and bottles at its Team Valley plant to produce award-winning wonders. With the popularity for our brews ever increasing we recently launched a refreshing more modern looking branded range of beers in cans which are proving to be extremely popular.

Ok not quite a spirit but an inspired mix which makes this tipple suitable at pretty much any time of day. And it's worth a mention as it has such a good story behind it. This independent Durham based distillery, which produces hand-crafted premium spirits with a focus on small-batch gins and nature at its heart, was founded by Sunderland-born Scott Wilson-Laing in 2019 with crowdfunding help and success rapidly followed, with the debut 1st Edition gin an award-winning hit.

Bristol Black Spiced Rum

With the business never slowing down there are always lots of exciting opportunities and adventures in the pipeline including global exports and more new products.

Our craft shop holds probably the widest range of local artefacts that can be found in one location in the region and is highly popular with all the tourists visiting. From a summery strawberries and cream-flavour Picnic Gin to a winter-warmer Fireside Gin, the pioneers are forever experimenting beyond their core range of Northern Dry Gin (43.2%) and Old Tom Gin - plus there's a Graceful Vodka too - which are all produced in a 500-litre still called Gracie. And the team cleverly keep people interested with limited-time-only, one-batch newcomers - such as Cherry and Basil - alongside its one-off range, The Rarities. Keep up to speed here with what's on offer. Northumberland Gin CompanyIt also spawned the likes of an extra-strength Pirate gin, in a distinctive poison bottle; flavoured varieties and an Angel of the North Gin to mark the sculpture's 20th anniversary - which added a herb from their own garden, close to the Angel, to the original botanicals of juniper, lemon, grapefruit, star anise and cardamom. There followed spiced rum too. Even in tough times - 2020 - the company was voted Alcohol Producer of the Year by Aspire Magazine. For more about the company see here.

Based on the tidal island of Lindisfarne 1 mile into the North Sea and linked to England by a causeway the Island regularly receives over half a million visitors each year, many of whom visit our shop. We sell a huge range of products. A variety of traditional meads (our Original, Spiced, Dark and Pink) along with a range of fruit wines and spirit drinks such as our Toffee vodka & Wild Strawberry-all produced and bottled at our winery on this Holy Island. Since 2016 this integrated business has been focused on building its brewing capacity and extending its product range. From an initial selection of 5 traditional beers namely its range of casks and bottles of IPA, Amber, Stout, Brown & Gold the business has now expanded its product range. In addition to a lager, it now produces our Holy Island beer range, initially only Lindisfarne Brown and Holy Island Bitter, but in 2020 launched a wider range of more modern hoppy beers including, Founded in 1914, the company started out with a uniquely blended 'legendary dark rum', said to be a favourite amongst sailors and fisherman in the North East. It was taken over by the Harry Hotspur Holdings group in 2013 and business now takes in a full range of rums and liqueurs. There's now also a Lindisfarne Gin and a resurrected 1950s Glen Aln Whisky.

From seasonal gins to limited-edition vodkas, the North East is quietly going about the business of producing a range of spirits that rival the very best.

Scott Wilson-Laing, founder and managing director of WL Distillery in County Durham, Picture: David Wood WL Distillery Rum was discovered in the Caribbean in the 17 th Century. It is made from molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process of extracting sugar cane juice, which can be fermented into alcohol. Often the fermentation is in copper pots. Globally it has become an extremely popular drink and there are now many flavours of rum available such as Dark, Golden, Spiced & White. Rum can also be found as the leading spirit in a range of rum-based liqueurs. The more traditional older drink is a dark r um Using a range of aged rums in our product ion that are between 2 to 5 years aged in wooden sherry & oak barrels/casks. As we mature, we are also now finding significant demand for us to support smaller businesses with their own bespoke products, particularly those outlets who value locally produced beers. The gin company, founded by Harry Vaulkhard in 2013, has its home at city bar-restaurant Bealim House where the gin distillery is described as Newcastle's first: "the city’s only working in-house gin still" says the pub which also hosts tasting events.

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We might be some time off being able to sample the Northumbrian Single Malt from what is to be Northumberland's first commercial whisky distillery but it surely will be worth the wait. In 2018 the business resurrected its 1950’s Glen Aln Whisky, a blend of fine scotch malt and grain whiskies and in 2021 released the now in-demand Lindisfarne Gin in line with our vision to expand across the full spirit market.