Happy 8th Birthday to Us

Eight Years of Whitby Distillery

From a utility room to the edge of the Abbey

Eight years ago, Whitby Distillery began in a utility room. No big plan or grand strategy, just a simple idea: to create something people could take home after making memories in Whitby. A bottle that held a moment. A taste of the coast. Something that felt like Whitby long after you’d left.

At the time, we only ever planned to release one product. That didn’t last long.

What started as a single gin has grown into a collection of spirits including gin, rum and vodka, each one inspired by the land and sea around us. Some were carefully planned, others came from curiosity or moments where we simply couldn’t help ourselves. Over time, that one idea has grown into a spirits catalogue that keeps evolving, and it still feels like we’re just getting started.

As the distillery has grown, so has the community around it. We’ve built a Founders Club, welcomed 666 shareholders into the journey, and met thousands of people who have visited, supported and championed what we do. Along the way, we’ve also partnered with some incredible organisations, from the RNLI to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, and more recently the North York Moors Trust. Each one rooted in a shared belief that this place matters and is worth protecting.

The past 12 months have been some of the most defining yet. We opened our shop on Church Street and got the Abbey Lands distillery build fully underway, turning a long-held vision into something real. Alongside all of that, we’ve been navigating our first year of parenthood, which has been full on, at times chaotic, but incredibly special.

Standing on the Abbey Lands site today, it’s hard to take in how far things have come. From that small utility room to a distillery rising beside Whitby Abbey. From one product to a growing range of spirits. From just the two of us to a team, a community and hundreds of people now part of the journey.

And still, it feels like the beginning.

With Abbey Lands continuing to take shape, new spirits in the works and the opportunity to bring more people into the journey, this next chapter feels like the big one.

To everyone who has supported us along the way, thank you. It genuinely means the world.

Here’s to what’s next.

Crafted by land & sea
Jess & Luke