Our Story - Written by Lily Glynn
Hi, I'm Lily, daughter of Emma and Gareth founders of The Shropshire Distillery and I have recently joined my mum and Dad full time at the distillery and I wanted to share a little bit about our story and how The Shropshire Distillery began.
We are not Shropshire born and bred; that’s probably the first thing to say. It matters because honesty has always been a big part of what we do and create.
Before the distillery, before the first bottle was sealed, we were living in Lancashire. In 2012, we moved to Shropshire just as I was about to start school. At the time, it just felt like a normal life change, a new place and an opportunity to grow up somewhere more remote. Looking back, I would never have thought I’d be writing this about my mum and dads’ success within their very own business.
My mum, Emma who is the head alchemist here at The Shropshire Distillery was previously working in education and later the NHS due to it being closer to what we just began to call home, Ellesmere. Gareth, my dad was working as a chemical engineer back in Warrington – though visitors to the Distillery will have spotted a few clues dotted on the walls that tell the story of his chapter before the move.
Despite being young, it was a significant change in my life to. Long commutes back and forth every day for my mum and dad for work which meant long days for me at school. But looking back now, the move to Shropshire is the thing that made everything possible.
The gin that started it all
The idea of having their very own distillery didn’t start with a plan and goal, it started with a bottle.
My parents bought a bottle of gin at a local food and drink festival. It was plastered on the bottle and sold as a made in Shropshire product, but when we got home and they properly looked into it and it turned out it wasn’t actually made here at all.
It bothered them.
Not just because it felt a bit misleading, but because it raised a bigger question—what was actually being made in Shropshire? At the time, not much. And definitely not gin.
So instead of leaving it there, they did something about it.
The Gin Shed
In 2018, The Shropshire Distillery started in a shed in our garden.
I remember it being busy more than anything else. Evenings, weekends, bottles everywhere, labels being done by hand, and Calla (our Hungarian Vizsla) always in the middle of it all. It didn’t feel like the start of something so big, I almost saw it as just their hobby I got the help out with.
Every recipe was tested, changed, and tested again until it was right. There weren’t any shortcuts. Just time, patience, and a lot of trial and error.
Since then, things have grown. We’ve moved premises, gained more space, and more people have discovered what we do. But the way we make everything hasn’t really changed.
Mum is our Head Alchemist (and, if you ask her, the real boss). Dad does a bit of everything—accounts, sales, and running the bar on a Friday night. And now I’ve joined full-time too, which makes it properly a family business.
#actuallymadein Shropshire
That original gin stuck with us, and it still shapes what we do now.
Provenance should mean something. When we say our spirits are made in Shropshire, we mean it. Everything we distil, blend, bottle and label is done here in Ellesmere.
We will also be straight with you: the majority of our botanicals come from overseas. The finest quality botanicals are sourced from around the world, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we distil, bottle, and label is made here in Ellesmere. That is the part we will never compromise on.
Honesty, transparency, craft. Not just a tagline.
How we make our gin
We still work in small batches using copper pot stills, using the same ones from the gin shed Jean and Anne.
Every batch is made using a one-shot-method, meaning everything goes in together, and what comes out goes straight into the bottle. No concentrates, no shortcuts and no bulk distillation afterwards.
We run each batch from head to tail but collect only the hearts — the purest part of the run, which gives our spirits their smooth, clean finish.
The spirit is blended with water purified through our own Reverse Osmosis system, bottled individually on our vacuum filling machine, and hand labelled. Every single bottle.
It takes longer, but it’s how we’ve always done it.
From shed to distillery
We’ve come a long way from that shed in the garden.
But at the same time, it doesn’t feel completely different. The scale has changed, but the thinking behind it hasn’t. It’s still about doing things properly, being honest about what we make, and not cutting corners.
What we make
From Shire Gin in a garden shed to a multi-award-winning distillery, we have come a long way.
Our range now includes our full core gin lineup; Dry Gin, Aromatic spiced Gin, Cherry & Pink Peppercorn Gin, Grapefruit & Hop Gin and our Navy Strength Gin.
We have a liqueurs range AFTER NOON Liqueurs which includes Citrus Grey Tea Liquors, Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur and our Apple & Cherry Liqueur – all bottled at 26% ABV.
We also have our Spring Vodka, which unlike our gins and liqueurs is blended with purified water; is blended with Wenlock Spring Water.
We have multiple awards for our core range gins, from worldwide awards including the IWSC and London Spirit Competition, which we are massively proud of, along with some others:
Distillery of the Year 2022 at the Prestige Awards. Best Small Business 2023 at the Shropshire Business Awards.
Five stars on Google and TripAdvisor.
Best Small Business 2023.
And most recently, our Apple and Cherry Liqueur and Spring Vodka were both named finalists in The Gin Guide Awards 2026.
We run gin and vodka school sessions, cocktail evenings, tastings, private events, and tours from the distillery — always small groups, always personal.
And in June, something new is coming.
A brand built around spirits crafted from surplus ingredients — with real purpose behind every drop. We are genuinely excited about this one. Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on socials so you do not miss it.
Sign up here
Come and visit
Every bottle we make is part of that journey—from Lancashire to Shropshire, from an idea to something real.
If you’ve visited us before, you’ll know what we’re about. And if you haven’t, you’re always welcome in Ellesmere.
Because for us, this has never just been about making gin.
It’s about making it properly and building a community.
And if you want to see how it is all made — come and see us - I’ll be waiting for you at the bar.
The Shropshire Distillery — Honesty. Transparency. Craft.
Units 18 & 19, Ellesmere Business Park, Ellesmere, Shropshire
