our story


Situated in Stratford upon Avon, the home of William Shakespeare, we are an artisan carbon neutral spirit producer, established in 2015. Inspired by the Tudor period, we take time, attention and passion to produce carefully handcrafted spirits in small batches. 
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Shakespeare Distillery

spirits with a twist of history

We wanted to create something authentic to this area, the historical town of Stratford upon Avon. The 16th and 17th centuries were a time of great discovery, experimentation and innovation. 

At Shakespeare Distillery, we fuse traditional and, in some cases, forgotten ingredients with modern techniques to create exciting new spirits, inspired by the Tudor period. We produce a range of premium, handcrafted gins and rums made entirely onsite at the distillery, including the award-winning Stratford Dry Gin and Jester Rum.


the distillery

Stratford's only working distillery

Our distillery is located on the north western edge of Stratford upon Avon, on the Drayton Manor Farm estate. In 2019, we opened our visitor centre there where you can now enjoy distillery tours and gin schools as well as visit our distillery shop and our coffee and cocktail lounge. In the summer, we also take to the River Avon and run our popular gin tasting cruises in partnership with Avon Boating. 

We have a shop in the heart of town, above which is Judith’s School of Spirits, where we offer rum schools, cocktail masterclasses and gin tasting experiences. It’s called ‘Judith’s’ because it was once the home of Shakespeare’s younger daughter, Judith and her husband, Thomas. He was a vintner, selling wines and spirits, so we think the family would have approved of us. 

Our visitor centre has won a number of Gold and Silver awards from the 2020 and 2022 West Midlands Tourism Awards and a 2021 and 2022 Traveller's Choice Award by Tripadvisor. So do please come and visit us to see for yourself.

*No appointments are needed to visit the shops; however, you will need to book a space on our experiences.

Visit us

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The people

of Shakespeare Distillery

At the heart of everything is our close-knit team, recognised by our visitors as knowledgeable and incredibly passionate about all we do. 

Founder and head distiller, Simon, spent two years creating Stratford Dry Gin from his own small copper still at home. Inspired by his Warwickshire location and love of history, Shakespeare Distillery was born using traditional Tudor period ingredients and giving them a fresh twist to create modern spirits. 

With a PhD in Astrophysics and a background in marketing, sales and events, Peter oversees the financial management, sales and marketing side of the business. Able to turn his hand to most things, his favourite saying is, ‘Well, it’s not rocket science, is it?’

Our small team has expanded significantly in recent years, as has our range of spirits, experiences and premises. We are proud of that growth but we remain an independent family business, small enough to do everything within our own distillery, passionate about what we do and patient enough to create beautifully complex spirits.


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The people

of Shakespeare Distillery
"The staff are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their products and very helpful and friendly!"
Tripadvisor review

At the heart of everything we do is our close-knit team, recognised by our visitors as knowledgeable and incredibly passionate about all we do.

Simon

Founder &
Head distiller
Simon:
Founder & Head Distiller
Responsible for setting up Shakespeare Distillery and for creating our spirits. Simon is a proud Warwickshire resident and has been based around Stratford upon Avon for more than 15 years.Being a big fan of gin it seemed to be the perfect place to start and having obtained his own small copper still in 2013 he has been busily experimenting ever since. Inspired by his location and his love of history and voila Shakespeare Distillery was born with the aim of using traditional Tudor period ingredients that would have been familiar to the bard and giving them a fresh twist to create modern new spirits.

Peter

Director
Peter:
Director
Responsible for IT, Marketing and Events. Peter joined the team to help turn Shakespeare Distillery from an idea into reality. With a background in Astrophysics, followed by event promotion and management, Peter is very handy to have around, being able to turn his mind to anything and manage to work something out that works! His favourite saying is ‘Well its not rocket science is it?’