Henstone Distillery - Meet the Makers
Discover the stories and meet the team behind Henstone Distillery from Shropshire. We caught up founder Chris Toller to find out more, including how it all started, the meaning behind the...
Discover the stories and meet the team behind Henstone Distillery from Shropshire. We caught up with founder Chris Toller to find out more, including how it all started, the meaning behind the name, what the distillery is like, how their gins are made, and what the plans for the future are.
What did you do before creating Henstone Distillery?
My wife, Alex, and I are the original founders and have been joined by Mike and Rhian Harris following a company restructure in 2023. I worked in Telecoms and IT for more than 40 years before ‘retiring’ in 2015, and Alex brought up our children and ran the family home. Coincidentally, Mike also works in Telecoms and IT and his wife Rhian has years of experience in the hospitality industry.
What is the meaning and story behind your brand name?
The distillery name comes from the original founders' house names – Alex and I live in an old public house called 'The Hen and Chickens' and our previous businesses partners live in a house called 'Stone House'. After much deliberation the name 'Henstone' emerged!
What made you decide to establish your distillery, and what's the inspiration behind your gin?
I had always wanted to distil (following a fascination with chemistry sets as a child) and saw the opportunity
back in 2017 when I started working part time for a local brewery. We have to say the inspiration behind our gin
rests with a chap called Ulrich Kothe. Ulrich had run the Kothe Still Manufacturing company in Southern Germany
for many years having spent his career building stills and distilling. On a due diligence trip to his factory,
where our still was being constructed, he let us sample his products including his gin. We were blown away by the
gin and knew this was the flavour profile we had to chase – we then did loads of research to establish the recipe
that would create the wonderful nose, flavour and mouthfeel, and are so proud we achieved it!
We now have
a range of six gins including; Classic London Dry (44.9%), Oak-Aged Rosé (44.9%), Navy (57.3%), Sloe (40%),
Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn (40%) and the latest addition, Orange and Ginger (40%).
Can you tell us more about your distillery?
Following relocation in 2024, our distillery is now on a farm called Dingle Farm, in a very rural location close to Welshpool. We have built a temporary facility at this location and in the not too distant future plan to build a permanent structure. We produce a wide portfolio of products including Gins, Whiskies, Rums, Vodkas and Brandies. We also produce a variety of ‘white label’ products for others – these include both Shrewsbury Gin and Chester Gin!
Can you tell us more about your stills?
We have two stills; a 1,000 litre pot/column hybrid called Hilda and a 30 litre alembic called Belina. Hilda is our main still and we specified the configuration as we knew the pot/column arrangement would allow us to produce a wide range of incredibly smooth products. She was installed in November 2017 and then re-located in June 2024. Belina was purchased in 2020, primarily to produce concentrated single flavours (e.g. orange, ginger, lemon, etc) and is now used to make some of our white label products too.
Can you tell us more about your distillation process?
Our gin production/distillation process takes two days. On Day 1 we put water, neutral grain spirit and some of
our own ‘barley spirit’ together with the majority of our botanicals into our 1,000 litre still. The botanicals
that go into the pot with the liquid include juniper, coriander, cardamon, angels wreath and orris root. We then
raise the temperature to a very specific level and hold it at that temperature for a very specific period of time.
We then turn off the burner and leave the liquid to macerate overnight.
On Day 2 we start very early in the
morning and add a further botanicals into the still’s botanical basket and turn on the burner. The botanicals in
the vapour trail (botanical basket) include juniper, sweet orange, lemon and hops. We increase the temperature
slowly and after around three and a half hours our gin ‘hearts’ are flowing from the still and being captured –
this continues for approximately 10 hours, after which we collect the tails.
What are your favourite ways to drink your gin/s?
- Henstone London Dry Gin – over ice with a chunk of orange and a good Indian Tonic
- Henstone Rosé Gin – over ice with a slice of fresh ginger and a good ginger ale
- Henstone Navy Gin – over ice with a chunk of pink grapefruit and a Mediterranean tonic
Desert Island Gins: Which 3 gins would you take with you?
- Dyfi Distillery Original
- Masons Dry Yorkshire Gin
- Tanqueray No. Ten
What is next for you and Henstone Distillery?
We plan to build a purpose built distillery at our new location in the not too distant future. What we haven’t mentioned is that the farm we are located on, which is owned by our new shareholders, Mike and Rhian Harris, straddles the English Welsh border. So, the new facility will be in England as we have spent a lot of time and effort getting our Whisky, in particular, recognised as English (references to English Whisky Guild, of which, Chris is a board member and the English Whisky Map). Once the new premises in England are up and running, we will work out what to do with the temporary facility.
