Testimonials
DISCOVER"Quite simply one of the finest gins around. I had the honour of doing your distillery tour last year. So informative and felt you went the extra mile for us. Love everything you're doing, keep up the good work !
"I love painting hares. There are few in various parts of Wiltshire near my home. None in the fields around me. I was over at Downton Distillery at the weekend, Hugh showed me around the vineyards and the surrounding farmland. The wildlife is incredible, hares are frequent visitors! The tour was fantastic."
Best Service, Best Delivery, Best Value for Money with their Subscriber Discount and with the Best TASTE, Explorer's Gin always has a place in our home with a spare pouch in the larder. Can't wait to do a tour of the Distillery in the New Year.
"I am so happy that I met the team at the Winchester Christmas market and bought a bottle of their Gin. It is my favourite Gin and I have refilled a few times with ease. Would recommend the Gin and company every day of the week."
INSPIRATION
Explorer’s Gin is inspired by Sir Walter Raleigh, who lived in Downton, as his star rose in court. On 25th March, 1584 he was given a Royal Warrant to explore & settle the New World. The land he called Virginia, in order to flatter Queen Elizabeth I. He established the Roanoke Colony, which became infamous as it disappeared in 1589. He is famed for bringing back both the potato, cedar & tobacco from America.
WORKMANSHIP
Our spirits are crafted, distilled & bottled in very small batches at our Nano-distillery which sits on the 'Downs' above Downton in Wiltshire. We are authentic, attentive, proud & care deeply about the quality of our work. Each batch will macerate for up to 48hrs allowing our flavours to blend prior to distillation. We use the one shot method, all bottles are signed & numbered by hand with 100 bottles per run.
BOTTLE FOR LIFE
Costs have increased for all of us, across the board and we are keen to help where possible. Our bottles are to beautiful to throw away, so we created our bottle for life programme. When you finish your bottle, purchase one of our refill packs which we ship to you free of charge. Then send all the packaging back to us using our 'Free post' service. This is then either reused or recycled. This saves you a huge 37%!
GIN FOUNDRY
“It’s rare when we see a start-up with massive potential right off the bat. Downton Distillery and their Explorer’s Gin however, has just that and more. They are proving that what’s needed in today’s saturated category is about so much more than being a local gin, a craft distiller, a small batch production or even – having great gin.
GIN GUIDE
"Explorer's Gin harmoniously brings together classic gin characteristics with a contemporary twist. It's a gin with complexity & depth and it is engaging through having clearly identifiable characteristics & stages along the flavour journey."
2023 SUSTAINABILITY WINNER
The winning producers are those which have most successfully shown ongoing commitment to achieving their environmental sustainability objectives across multiple initiatives, with innovative solutions, proven impact and an embedded and measured culture of sustainability. It is at the heart of what they do.
REFILL SERVICE - SAVE 37%
Did you know each bottle weighs 2.1Kgs of CO2.
We are continually improving our carbon footprint through both our environmental and sustainability initiatives. We feel our bottle is too beautiful to throw away and keen that you reuse and refill it.
Every reused bottle not only helps to save the planet but also saves you money.
You can refill refill your bottle at Downton Brewery, Regent Tailoring, Dark Revolution, Kingsgate Wines & Provisions & Healthy Life.
IN THE MEDIA
SUNDAY BRUNCH - SMALL BATCH GIN
Olivier Ward talks about Small Batch Distilleries & Explorer's Gin.
DESIGNING ASIAN PARSNIP GIN
We designed Asian Parsnip, then created multi award winning Navy Strength Gin with James May.
COCKTAIL EVENINGS
Contact us, if you would like to host a cocktail evening with us.
OUR FEATURES
Past features, adventuring series and stories that we have run in our newsletters and blogs.
DISPATCHES
Conservation - Rewilding Juniper
Thank you to those who continue to support our conservation work. One of our projects is the rewilding of Juniper. To date we have two groves / colonies, with twenty plants in each which are carefu... more
The Last Wiltshire Life Awards
Last Friday was a bittersweet evening tinged with joy and sadness. The evening was Wiltshire’s answer to the Oscars, just more countrified with a little less paparazzi. It was the Wiltshire Life Aw... more
The Antartic Fire Angels
One of the planet’s last great untouched wildernesses, the South Pole has long been the crowning jewel of polar exploration. Since Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen first attempted to find a route to ... more