What did you do before establishing Downton Distillery? Before founding Downton Distillery, I was fortunate to have a career that took me around the world, exposing me to diverse cultures, ideas, and experiences. My early years in the military instilled discipline, resilience, and leadership, while later roles across different industries sharpened my skills in strategy, operations, and problem-solving. Each step along the way equipped me with the tools and perspective needed to build a distillery from the ground up - combining structure with creativity, and precision with storytelling. What made you decide to launch your own distillery and spirits? With a great uncle, Adrian Palmer, who was both a master brewer and distiller, you could say the craft was always in my blood. The real spark, however, was reignited a decade ago by my partner Meike, after a visit to the former City of London Distillery. For me, distilling has always been the perfect fusion of alchemy and cooking - two passions I’ve carried throughout my life. Wiltshire, a place that has shaped me deeply, naturally became the heart of this journey, and I wanted the distillery to honour and reflect its rich heritage.
What is the story behind your brand name and the inspiration for your brand? Many assume the name is a nod to the famous TV series, but in truth it comes from Downton, a picturesque village set on the River Avon between Salisbury and Fordingbridge. The distillery’s first home was beside one of the oldest houses in England, dating back to the reign of King Alfred the Great. In 2021, we relocated to the Domaine Hugo Vineyards, nestled within the West Wiltshire Downs and Cranborne Chase - an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that continues to inspire everything we do. Having travelled widely, I’ve been shaped by the sights, sounds, and histories I’ve encountered but it’s Wiltshire’s own rich tapestry that grounds me. The Downs, with their Middle Stone Age heritage, ancient burial mounds, and thriving flora and fauna, provide constant inspiration. This landscape, steeped in history and biodiversity, is reflected in our spirits. Each of our gins draws on this provenance, using different botanicals to tell its own story. Beyond gin, we craft other spirits too, often through partnerships that creatively repurpose by-products and waste, ensuring nothing is lost and everything has purpose. What's the inspiration behind Explorer’s Gin? Two key influences shaped the distillery’s identity. The first comes from the Elizabethan era and one of its most famous figures: Sir Walter Raleigh - adventurer, explorer, privateer, soldier, poet, and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Our bottle design celebrates this Golden Age of Discovery, when Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake opened new trade routes that helped establish Britain as a maritime power. The navigation lines, rose compass, and deep ocean blue all capture this enduring spirit of adventure. At its heart lies our unique botanical, Eastern Juniper, which grows just outside the distillery and is freshly cut before each distillation. The second influence is more personal - my grandfather, who alongside Sir John Blashford-Snell, co-founded Operation Raleigh in the 1980s (later becoming Raleigh International). This pioneering charity inspired generations of young explorers and even played a role in bringing Prince William and Kate together. That legacy of adventure and discovery continues to run through everything we do.
Can you tell us about your Great Bustard Gin and why it is so important to you? Great Bustard Gin is important because it goes far beyond being just another craft spirit - it embodies heritage, conservation, and purpose. The gin was created to celebrate and support the return of the Great Bustard, one of the world’s heaviest flying birds and once extinct in the UK. Salisbury Plain, right on our doorstep, is at the centre of the reintroduction project. The gin directly raises awareness and funds for the Great Bustard Group, the charity leading this work. On a cultural level, the Great Bustard has deep roots in Wiltshire’s history - it appears on county crests and is a symbol of the chalk downs themselves. By weaving the bird’s natural diet into the gin’s botanicals (wild clover, yarrow, and other native herbs), the spirit becomes more than a drink: it’s a liquid expression of landscape, biodiversity, and local story. For a small distillery, this gin matters because it demonstrates how craft can drive positive impact, tying together sustainability, provenance, and conservation. It’s proof that a bottle can stand for something bigger than what’s inside. What have been the outcomes of this conservation work so far? Great Bustard Gin has become more than a spirit - it’s a way of educating people, raising awareness, and, most importantly, generating vital funds for the Great Bustard Group. Through this project, the distillery has built relationships with local farmers and landowners involved in the reintroduction programme. Some of these farmers grow lucerne and red clover - key forage plants for the bustards - that now feature among our botanicals. The initiative has also enabled us to expand our Juniper Rewilding Programme. Once a common sight, juniper has almost vanished from Wiltshire due to modern farming practices. By working with the community, we’ve been able to establish new habitats in stunning locations across the county. It’s both exciting and humbling to be helping create a legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Can you tell us more about your distillery and your still? The distillery is surrounded on all sides by the rolling Wiltshire Downs, a place of extraordinary peace and tranquillity. Inside, there’s no glitz or glamour - everything has a purpose. Much of the interior is either upcycled or hand-built with the help of friends, giving the space a raw, honest character. Beyond the still room, I’ve transformed formerly waste farmland into a thriving botanical garden. It serves as a living classroom where visitors can explore the plants, herbs, and spices used in distilling. One of my favourite moments is asking people to identify the juniper. Over time, the garden has developed its own ecosystem, now home to nine endangered bird species, two hedgehogs, and several sloe worms. At the heart of it all is a single 150L Portuguese copper alembic still. It’s easy to be distracted by modern kit and flashy designs, but I chose to learn the hard way, guided by traditional methods and values. She’s named Abeona, after the Roman goddess of safe passage and adventure, a fitting companion for this journey. Can you tell us more about your distillation process? We handcraft all our spirits, meticulously following recipes we've developed, tested, and perfected, incorporating locally or ethically sourced ingredients, with each ingredient playing a part within that spirit. We use the one-shot method in our distillation, combining direct and indirect vapour infusion to capture the full character of our botanicals. Just beside us lies a natural spring, its water now purified using state-of-the-art equipment installed by the vineyard. This same water runs through all our spirits - from gin to apple brandy and vodka. I often find myself wondering when it last fell as rain upon the Downs - the answer is likely hundreds of years ago, a reminder of the timeless landscape that shapes every drop we produce.
Can you tell us more about the unusual botanicals you use? We’ve never followed the crowd when it comes to botanicals. Every spirit we’ve created has featured something unusual at its core. For example, cedar forms the backbone of Explorer’s Gin, while lucerne and red clover - plants the Great Bustard forages for - define Great Bustard Gin. I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with botanicals others might overlook - everything from mustard, mushroom, parsnip, patchouli and beetroot, to dandelion, lucerne, red clover, and red cedar. Even our vodkas make use of Chardonnay pomace, giving new life to what might otherwise go to waste. This spirit of curiosity and challenge has led to some exciting collaborations too, including with James May. Most gins in the market lean towards sweet, citrus, berry, or floral profiles, but we’re driven to push boundaries while keeping quality and tradition at the core. For us, it’s about more than flavour; it’s about building a sustainable, visionary brand that supports ethical suppliers, local businesses, re-wilding efforts, charities, and the wider industry. Ambition means nothing without action, and we’re proud to put that belief into practice. What can visitors experience if they visit the distillery for a tour and tasting? Visitors to Downton Distillery can expect something very different from a polished “showroom” experience. You’ll step into a working distillery on the Wiltshire Downs, where every corner has a purpose and much of it has been hand-built or upcycled. I’ll take you through the story of how it all began—drawing on history, exploration, and the landscape that inspires our spirits. Stories of provenance, sustainability, and partnerships - from juniper re-wilding and conservation projects to collaborations with local farmers and artisans. It’s informal, hands-on, and personal - more like being welcomed into someone’s workshop than a scripted tour. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of craft distilling, the heritage of Wiltshire, and hopefully a new favourite spirit.
The Wine and Spirits Trade Association have used you as a benchmark for sustainability, can you tell us more about this?
The WSTA recently benchmarked our refill pouch system as a model of best practice in sustainable packaging. At Downton Distillery, every element of packaging is reused or recycled, creating a genuine closed-loop system. This not only reduces our reliance on glass and cuts carbon emissions, it also allows us to pass on savings - offering refill customers a lower price without compromising on quality. It is proof that small distilleries can innovate, lead on sustainability, and make it work commercially. What is your ambition for Downton Distillery in the years to come? I remember being asked this back in 2019 - since then the industry has shifted dramatically. Sadly, we’ve seen some truly wonderful brands disappear under the weight of an ever-changing economic landscape. Ultimately, our ambition is simple: to leave behind more than we take, creating a distillery that future generations can look back on as a benchmark of craft, integrity, and environmental stewardship. What are your favourite ways to drink your gins? My tastes tend to shift with the seasons - I enjoy the sharpness of a well-made sour and the elegance of a Martini. As a Margarita lover, I also have a soft spot for a Bee Sting, especially when made with jalapeño sugar syrup in place of honey. It’s a brilliant twist with just the right kick. Desert Island Gins: Which 3 gins would you take with you and why? Not being a sailor, I would hope I never end up in this position! But this definitely brings out the explorer in me - and of course, one of my answers has to involve a flint glass bottle! If I could only take three gins, the first would be St George Terroir - its aroma instantly transports you to a pine forest, and it was the gin that first inspired my journey. The second would be Bobby’s Gin, with its delicate lemongrass notes - a true hidden gem. And finally, Ferdinand’s Saar Dry Gin, beautifully balanced with the elegance of Riesling grapes. A flint glass bottle would be invaluable on a desert island. First, it can be used for water storage and purification, collecting rainwater or even evaporating and condensing seawater through solar distillation. Thanks to its transparency, the bottle can also sterilise water in direct sunlight using the SODIS method, making it safe to drink. Beyond hydration, the bottle doubles as a survival tool: its curved surface can act like a magnifying glass to focus sunlight and ignite tinder, while the reflective glass can be used to signal passing ships or planes. Simple, but potentially life-saving. I will let the readership find out which of the above bottles has a flint glass bottle! What's next for you and Downton Distillery - any exciting plans? I have just launched Orchard Spirits. This is one of Downton Distillery’s most distinctive projects - it’s about taking the best of local fruit and turning it into something truly special, while keeping waste out of landfill. At its core, Orchard Spirits are fruit-based eaux-de-vie and liqueurs, crafted in partnership with local farmers, vineyards, and growers. Surplus or “waste” fruit that would otherwise be discarded - apples, damsons, grapes and walnuts. They are repurposed and made into elegant spirits that capture the flavour of the season. Instead of letting nature’s abundance go to waste, it’s given new life in a bottle. You Might Also Like...
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