Leicestershire

Gin Distillery in the UK


The county of Leicestershire belongs to the East Midlands region in the east of England. In the north of the county you will find the town of Loughborough which is located near East Midlands Airport. Here you can visit the Charnwood Museum, which tells about local history, and the Bellfoundry Museum, where you can see how large bells are made. In addition, here in Loughborough you can also travel to Leicester North on a historic railway route. This is the Great Central Railway. Here in the north you are close to the border with Nottinghamshire.

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Belvoir Castle.

In the western part of the county there are a number of sights such as the 15th century castle ruins of Ashby de la Zouche. Nearby you can also visit Snibston Discovery Centre, a museum of technological innovation and Donnington le Heath Manor House. That is a historic mansion with a garden. Just east of this house is the Ulverscroft Nature Reserve. To enter this area you must obtain permission from the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.

Further south is the historic Bosworth battlefield where the battle took place in 1485. There is a visitor center with an exhibition. In the northeast corner of Leicestershire lies the town of Melton Mowbray where you can visit the Melton Carnegie Museum. A little further away is the stylish Belvoir Castle, which can only be visited on a limited number of days. The most prominent place in the county is of course the city of Leicester.

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Rutland is the smallest county in England and also Great Britain. A significant part of this area consists of a lake called Rutland Water. The western part of the lake including its banks belongs to a nature reserve where you can also watch birds. The largest town in the county is the town of Oakham which is close to the lake and where you can visit a few attractions. These are the medieval building Oakham Castle and the Rutland County Museum. Further south in a picturesque village is Lyddington Bede House, the medieval wing of a former episcopal palace.


45 Gin School / Burleighs Gin Academy Bawdon Lodge Farm, Nanpantan Road, Nanpantan, Loughborough LE12 9YE ·

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burleighs gin international womens day

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March 8th, 2020

Distilling is traditionally a male pursuit. There’s no reason why it should be – except the shackles of history – but many more men make gin, vodka, rum and whisky than women. The same is true for brewing.

However, things are changing. The gin boom is creating more women distillers. And one is Charlie Hendon, head distiller at Burleighs Gin of Leicestershire.

Charlie’s career began at Derby Brewing Company, where she developed a passion for brewing and distillation. Joining Burleighs Gin in 2018, she found her feet under the guidance of Master Distiller Jamie Baxter before taking over Burleighs’ distillation and product development.

“It’s a great time to be a woman in the gin industry,” says Charlie. “A world that was predominantly led by men is increasingly being shaped and influenced by women. The popularity of gin has opened many opportunities for distillers to hone their creativity and skills.”

Located in Leicestershire’s Charnwood Forest, every bottle of Burleighs Gin is distilled by Charlie on a 450-litre copper-pot still. They are enjoyed as far afield as Malaysia & Thailand.

Charlie’s first creation as Burleighs head distiller is the limited-edition Enchanted Woodland Gin, released in January 2020. It’s a classic London Dry Gin distilled with bilberries, elderberry and lemon. A limited number of bottles are available here.

Charlies says: “My advice to women looking to enter the gin industry is to be confident and show a willingness to learn. You never know how far your passion might take you. Being the head distiller of an international gin brand once felt a distant dream, but now the sky is the limit.”

If gin distilling sounds like your dream job, you can try your hand at Burleighs Gin Academy. Working with Charlie, you’ll gain a unique insight into gin, enjoy behind-the-scenes access to Burleighs Distillery and craft a bottle of gin to your own recipe.

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After forming in October 2013 as 45 West Distillers set out to create a distillery that would produce super premium aspirational branded products. Including branding and product development it took just 8 months to complete the craft distillery that has been installed on a rural Leicestershire farm and on 24th June, started to produce Burleighs Gin what is set to be the UK’s number one artisan gin brand.

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Leicestershire is known for its picturesque countryside and the 45 West Distillery is nestled in the majestic Charnwood Forest, adjacent to a natural woodland reserve, Burleigh Wood. While walking through the wood, Master Distiller Jamie Baxter came across silver birch, dandelion, burdock, elderberry and iris. Enthused by his find, these botanicals went on to inspire the first recipe and it seemed only fitting that this ancient Leicestershire woodland site also gave the gin its name!

The Distillers Kitchen, is a new Gin School and exclusive venue as part of the 45 Bar Group, located in a characteristic building with its prime position in Leicester City Centre.

The Gin School offers the perfect opportunity to learn the art of Gin distillation and to create a unique and personalised bottle of craft distilled Gin, whilst enjoying the company of your friends or colleagues over a few Burleighs G&T’s in the process!

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Included within the experience, you are invited to our Gin and Cocktail Lounge, there you are taught by a top mixologist how to create an amazing Gin Cocktail. Then the opportunity to relax with your cocktail, whilst your personal Gin is distilling downstairs.

This is the perfect venue and experience for corporate occasions, professional workshop or small conference, team building or a group of friends looking for something different. Distillers Kitchen is perfect for social gathering, those wishing to host a party for up to 60-70 people and is equipped with superb facilities including a private Gin and Cocktail Lounge.


127 Upper Bond St, Hinckley LE10 1RT, Verenigd Koninkrijk

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In 2018 Bond Street Distillery Ltd, founded by Sally Faulkner acquired the old Bond Street Glass premises in Hinckley Leicestershire. This old Victorian building was originally part of the Brocklehurst Hosiery Company built in the early 1900’s. This timeline shows the journey to bring Hinckley’s first gin distillery to life.

Drawing inspiration from our Victorian surroundings the team at Bond Street that our distillery not only produces fine gins but that we ensure our guests the best experience and service when they visit.

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How do we start to tell the story of Bond Street Distillery? It is hard to put into words the journey we have been on to create this gin. From our founder Sally Faulkner’s initial lightning bolt of inspiration during a night spent with friends who ‘don’t like gin’, to the extensive renovation works of the old hosiery factory in Hinckley where we are now based.

The inspiration, passion and attention to detail we have poured into every aspect of the building’s transformation from a neglected factory to Bond Street Distillery and Social, is the same inspiration, passion and attention to detail we put into the creation of our gins.

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Drawing inspiration from our Victorian surroundings we set out to create a London dry gin that embodies the historical methods of distillation combined with rich, zesty flavours of citrus and the wonderful aroma of English coriander. With passion and love we present to you Bond Street No1, a smooth, sultry gin perfect for any G&T or cocktail.

BSD signature gin

Bond Streets Raspberry gin takes our signature gin and blends it with sumptuous raspberry creating a fresh indulgent flavoured gin that couples delightfully with your favourite mixer.

BSD raspberry gin

Our Bond Street Rhubarb and Custard gin starts its life as our signature gin, lovingly distilled in our beautiful copper still ‘Claire’. We infuse the signature gin with both rhubarb and custard combining the wonderful flavours of our core recipe with the tangy zest of fresh rhubarb and the creamy vanilla notes of custard. Invigorating and exciting, this is the ideal gin for both gin lovers and novices alike.

BSD rhubarb custard gin

Our Bond Street Blood Orange gin starts its life as our signature gin, lovingly distilled in our beautiful copper still ‘Claire’. We then infuse the signature gin with blood orange, combining the wonderful flavours of our core recipe with the vibrant tang of squeezed blood orange. A true crowd pleaser this flavoured gin is sure to put a smile on your face.

BSD blood orange gin

Our Bond Street Navy Strength gin starts its life in ‘Claire’ our still, as our signature gin recipe, it is then blended to 57.5% ABV rather than 40% as for our Signature. The higher ABV brings the complex and vibrant combination of flavours in our recipe to the fore. Both bold and yet incredibly smooth this is a gin for the true gin aficionado, a real insight into the complexity that lies within each bottle.

BSD navy strength gin

Drawing inspiration from our Victorian surroundings we set out to create a London dry gin that embodies the historical methods of distillation combined with rich, zesty flavours of citrus and the wonderful aroma of English coriander. With pride and love we present our one year anniversary Hinckley No1 bottle. The perfect gin for a G&T or cocktail.

Hinckley anniversary

Bond Street Passion for Pride Gin has been crafted in ‘Claire’ our beautiful copper still. Set against the backdrop of the lovingly restored 19th Century manufacturing works that is Bond Street Distillery.

On an early evening in May 2023 members of the Hinckley Pride committee came to a gin school with Chief Distiller Sally Faulkner, with the sole purpose of creating a gin with all the colour and passion of a PRIDE EVENT.

Their ideas on flavour, taste and botanicals combined with the panache of the distiller led to the creation of this exciting and vibrant Passion Fruit Gin.

BSD Passion for pride gin


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King power Stadium.

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Photo: Arne Müseler

Leicester’s previous stadium, where the club played for 111 years, became too small, according to the team, and this resulted in the move to another stadium. The distance between the new stadium and the previous one was only 200 meters. The sponsorship rights were purchased at the time by Leicester City’s former shirt sponsor, the well-known crisp brand Walkers, giving the stadium the name Walkers Stadium. The new stadium opened its doors in 2002.

The construction of the stadium cost a total of 43 million euros. Because Leicester City was relegated from the Premier League that same year, the club was immediately in financial trouble. The stadium had a new owner after Leicester was promoted back to the Premier League after one year and also a new name: The King Power Stadium. The stadium now has room for 32,262 fans.

Leicester Champion 2015 / 2016 Premier League.

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The 2nd of May 2016 will be remembered for many, many years. This was the day that one of the biggest shocks in football, or any sport, finally happened: Leicester City became Premier League Champions. Many football fans are still rubbing their eyes in disbelief that this has happened in the biggest league in world football. Leicester City had never won a top division title before, their best result before this season was second, in 1929!

Only seven years ago, Leicester were playing in League One, the third level of English football. Last season, Leicester were bottom of the table for most of the year and only seven wins in their last nine matches saved them from relegation. At the beginning of this season, Leicester City were given odds of 5000-1 to win the Premier League, there was a stronger possibility of Elvis Presley being found alive (2000-1) or the Loch Ness Monster being discovered in Scotland (500-1). 

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Marco Heyrman Webdeveloper

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