Took one of the distillery tours recently - a gift for my mother for Christmas. I recommend it - it works well as a present!
The premises themselves are not huge. Similar places I've visited before (I've been to places where they make whiskey and brandy) have been large, but this is all in one room - not really a tour at all, more of a guided talk and tasting. But that doesn't really matter! It adds to the feel of it being somewhere plucky and new.
The guide was engaging and obviously involved with the business. He responded to some rather specific questions knowledgeably and easily, which impressed me.
I wouldn't normally drink neat vodka or gin, but tastings are included, and they're pretty generous - you try vodka, gin, sloe gin, damson vodka and the summer cup, as well as getting a gin and tonic on arrival. I was surprised to find that the vodka wasn't at all biting, which is normally so offputting - I still don't think I'll be drinking it regularly but it did feel like an education.
It was long enough that it felt like value for money, but stopped short of being boring and losing the audience.
The only thing I'd say is that the 6.30 start made it really difficult for me to attend, as I finish work at 5.30 in central London (on a good day), so making it to Chiswick seemed to take pretty much the entire hour, so I cut it very fine. The good news is that the tour doesn't start immediately - the g&t is first, so it was fine to be a bit late. Still, if I was giving them a recommendation, I'd say that starting at 7 would make it that much more accessible! read more