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Big winnings for WL Distillery
Ian Wherry | 30 Oct, 2023
Finalist for two 2023 awards!


Scott from WL Distillery has really been in the limelight over the last few weeks. We are hoping good things for him as the finalist of the Entrepreneur of the year at both the Business Excellence and the GB Entrepreneur Awards.
Vibrant creations and continuous innovations are at the heart of County Durham based WL Distillery. As the award-winning company celebrates their third year since the first bottle of gin left the distillery, it’s time for reflection on the buoyant growth trajectory which has seen the distillery pick up gold at The Gin Masters, making Vogues ‘Hot List’, GQ’s ‘Cocktail Club’ and listed in the London Spirits Top 100 spirits.
The product portfolio range has grown immensely over the three short years increasing to six flavours including limited edition festive and Valentine ranges alongside Wilson’s Gin Club ‘Watermelon and Liquorice’. From picking up international awards, to hitting top glossy magazines to being featured at London’s world-famous Science Museum, the journey has been ever evolving for the team at WL Distillery.
The winning of awards didn’t stop there with the latest award he received for the best craft brewery/distillery in the UK food industry awards.

Scott Wilson-Laing Founder and Managing Director, WL Distillery said:
“We have been on an incredible journey and are delighted with the growth of the company to date in the last 3 years. Receiving leading industry awards in such a short period of time really helped cement the brand as a strong player in the ever-growing gin market, demonstrating that the spirits we are making are the kind that bar managers and mixologists want to stock.
We have big plans for the distillery, alongside expansion we will also diversify our product portfolio with further announcements imminently. The experiences we’ve had as a new start-up have been phenomenal, the support from the community has been immense and we are really enjoying the journey.”
The team recently unveiled plans to ramp up expansion with further investment and site acquisition at their County Durham based site, with support from TAP which will see the investment opportunity enable people to be a part of their exciting expansion plans. The new plans will assist in expanding their product portfolio and developing their export growth strategy to support further accelerated growth.
With an explosion of flavours, their inspiration comes from their Northern roots, ensuring a fresh and classic authentic gin experience for customers. Ingredients have always taken centre stage at WL Distillery and each bottle is infused with nature using handpicked and measured botanicals to ensure the freshest, most authentic taste.
The journey hasn’t always been smooth, with the distillery proactively halting the gin development and production at the start of the pandemic. The pause in production saw the company re-mobilise their efforts to support the crisis and use their resources and skills for the production of hand sanitiser when it was needed the most. The distillery now features at London’s world-famous Science Museum, were a sample of hand sanitiser produced and equipment used by WL Distillery was acquired by the Science Museum Group as part of its COVID-19 Collecting Project. The hand sanitiser joined other historic items in the collection in London to provide insights into the medical and scientific advancements over the period.
The project will provide a permanent record for future generations of medical, scientific, industrial, cultural and personal responses to the outbreak and chronicling its impact on society.

TAPinto is very proud to have WL Distillery listed as one of its active pitches and we have offers still in place for you to take a punt on the action. You may have to move quick though, the attention Scott is getting will soon mean there will not be any shares available for £100. For now you can get immediate access to the pitch through your TAPinto Account.