London gin is a recipe, not an address. Under the law that still governs spirit labelling in Britain, "London gin" describes how a gin is made, and it can be made anywhere in the world. Real distilleries inside London do exist, and several run tours, but the biggest and best known of them, Beefeater in Kennington, stopped taking visitors at the end of 2025.
That is the first thing to fix, because a great many guidebooks and websites still send people to Kennington. The Beefeater visitor centre, which opened in 2014 and was the first of its kind in the capital, stopped running guided tours in October 2025, and the distillery has not been open to the public since 1 January 2026.
What is left is smaller, harder to book and in some ways more interesting: working distilleries in Chiswick, Battersea and the City, most of which run tours on fixed evenings for a couple of dozen people at a time.
Gin tours in London at a glance
- Typical price
- About £25 for a tour with a tutored tasting; £65 for a cocktail masterclass (Sipsmith's own prices, September 2026)
- Typical length
- 60 to 120 minutes
- Walk-ins
- Almost never. Sipsmith states plainly that it cannot accept walk-in guests
- Age
- 18 and over; expect a Challenge 25 identity check
- Booking window
- Tours are often released a month at a time and sell out
- Minimum strength of gin in the UK
- 37.5% alcohol by volume
- Closed to visitors
- Beefeater Distillery, Kennington, since 1 January 2026
What "London gin" legally means
The definition sits in Annex I of the assimilated spirit drinks regulation. To be called London gin, a spirit must be a distilled gin made only from ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, with a methanol limit of 5 grams per hectolitre; all its flavour must come from distilling the alcohol together with the natural plant materials; it may not be sweetened beyond 0.1 grams per litre; and it must be at least 37.5 per cent alcohol.
Nothing in that list mentions London. A gin distilled in Spain or Japan to those rules may be sold as London gin, and plenty is. The phrase "London Dry" on a bottle in a supermarket tells you about the method and nothing about the map.
Two consequences for a visitor. Buying "London gin" as a souvenir is meaningless unless you check where it was actually made, and the distilleries genuinely producing in London tend to say so prominently on the label. Our guide to souvenirs worth buying covers what else travels well.
Sipsmith, Chiswick: the one that restarted the industry
Sipsmith opened in 2009 in a small building in west London and was the first copper pot still licensed in the capital for nearly two centuries. It is now at 83 Cranbrook Road, Chiswick W4 2LJ, and it runs the most predictable tour programme in London.
Two things are on offer. The weeknight Distillery Tour and Tutored Tasting costs £25 and runs 18:30 to 20:00 on alternate Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 16:30 to 18:00 on Fridays; it includes a drink on arrival, a walk round the three stills, a tasting of the range and a gift bag. The Ultimate Gin Cocktail Masterclass costs £65, runs 18:00 to 20:00 on Tuesdays, and has you making three cocktails.
Book ahead. The distillery says it releases tours a month at a time and cannot take walk-in guests, partly because of the health and safety rules that apply in a working distillery. Chiswick is in the area covered by our guide to Ealing and west London, and the distillery has no parking.
Book the tour before you book the evening around it. London distillery tours run on fixed weekday evenings, in small groups, and are released roughly a month ahead. If a gin tour is the reason for your trip, buy the ticket first and build the rest of the day around it, rather than hoping for a slot on the Saturday you happen to be free.
Distilleries in the centre and the south
Chiswick is a 40-minute journey from the middle of London. Two alternatives sit closer in.
The City of London Distillery is on Bride Lane, off Fleet Street, and is unusual in being a distillery and a bar in the same room, with the stills behind glass at the back. It runs gin-making experiences and tastings as well as ordinary bar service, which makes it the easiest option if you want to see a still without committing to a two-hour tour. Its website did not respond when we checked in September 2026, so telephone before travelling. It is a few minutes from St Paul's, in the area covered by our guide to the City of London.
Doghouse Distillery, established in 2016 at Unit L, London Stone Business Estate in Battersea SW8 3QR, is the only multi-category grain-to-bottle distillery in London: it makes its own base spirit from grain rather than buying it in, which is rarer than most gin marketing suggests. It makes vodka, gin, moonshine and an aperitivo, and has a bar on site. See our guide to Battersea and Nine Elms for what else is nearby.
Both publish their own opening and event times, and both fill up at weekends.
What happens on a gin tour
The format is remarkably consistent, which makes it easy to judge whether you want one.
- A drink on arrival, almost always a gin and tonic, usually included in the price.
- The history. Twenty minutes on juniper, the Dutch origins of the spirit, the eighteenth-century Gin Craze and the collapse and revival of London distilling.
- The stills. Ten to fifteen minutes among the copper, with an explanation of botanicals, maceration and the heads, hearts and tails of a distillation run.
- The tasting. Three to five gins, neat and then with tonic, with someone explaining what to look for.
- The shop. Usually a discount of around 10 per cent on bottles and merchandise for people on the tour.
Tours are almost always adults only. Distilleries are working industrial premises with hot equipment and flammable spirit, so children are not admitted even as observers, which catches out families who assume it works like a brewery taproom.
What it costs, and whether it is worth it
At £25 a head, a tour with a tasting is priced in the same range as a museum exhibition ticket, and for two people that is £50 before drinks afterwards. A cocktail masterclass at £65 a head is a different proposition: for a couple it is £130, which buys a good dinner elsewhere.
Worth it if you like spirits, want to understand what you are tasting, and enjoy small groups. Skip it if you mainly want to drink gin, because a good bar will give you more variety for less money, and our guide to cocktail bars in London explains how to choose one. Skip it too if your schedule is tight, because these are weekday evening commitments in outer neighbourhoods.
Compare it with the alternatives before booking: a brewery visit is usually cheaper and more relaxed, as our guide to brewery taprooms shows, while a guided walk covers more ground for less, as in our round-up of walking tours. If you want the behind-the-scenes format applied to something else entirely, stadium tours work on the same principle.
Gin without a distillery
You do not need a tour to take gin seriously in London. Three cheaper routes:
Gin bars. Several bars keep a hundred or more gins and will build a flight of three or four for around the price of two cocktails. Ask the bartender to pick, and say whether you want juniper-forward or floral.
Department store tastings. Food halls in the big shops run free or low-cost spirit tastings at the counter. Our page on Fortnum & Mason covers one of the best-known spirits departments.
Historic gin palaces. Some of London's most ornate Victorian pubs were built during the gin boom, with etched glass and mirrors designed to make a small bar look grand. Our guide to historic pubs lists them, and they cost nothing to walk into.
If you are not drinking, the same distilleries now make alcohol-free spirits; note that there is no such thing as alcohol-free gin in law, because gin must be at least 37.5 per cent. See our guide to drinking without alcohol.
Taking bottles home
A 70cl bottle of gin bought at a distillery shop typically costs about the same as in a supermarket, sometimes with a tour discount. The rules on carrying it home depend on where you are going, so check your own country's allowance as well as the UK's, which our guide to UK customs allowances explains.
Two practical points. Spirits above 22 per cent count against the smaller alcohol allowance in most countries, and a bottle cannot go in hand luggage unless it is bought after security. Distilleries will wrap a bottle for a suitcase if you ask, and most will not post spirits abroad.
A "gin experience" sold by a third party is not always a distillery visit. Several tickets advertised online as gin tours are tastings held in a bar or a hotel function room with no still in the building. If seeing production matters to you, book through the distillery's own website and look for the words "working distillery" and a named address.
Frequently asked questions
Can you still tour the Beefeater Distillery in London?
No. Beefeater stopped running guided tours at its Kennington distillery in October 2025, and the site has not been open to the public since 1 January 2026. Many guides and listings have not been updated, so do not travel there expecting a visitor centre.
How much does a gin distillery tour in London cost?
About £25 for a tour with a tutored tasting at Sipsmith in Chiswick in September 2026, and £65 for its cocktail masterclass. Other distilleries charge broadly similar amounts. Check the distillery's own booking page, because prices and dates change and tours are released only a month or so ahead.
Does London gin have to be made in London?
No. "London gin" is a production method defined in spirit drinks law: distilled gin, no added flavour after distillation, almost no sweetening and at least 37.5 per cent alcohol. It can legally be made anywhere. Look for the distillery's own address on the label if provenance matters to you.
Can children go on a gin distillery tour?
No. London distillery tours are for adults only, because they take place in working production areas. Expect a Challenge 25 policy, which means photographic identification if you look under 25, even if you are well over 18.
Do I need to book a gin tour in advance?
Yes. Sipsmith states that it cannot accept walk-in guests, and the same applies almost everywhere: groups are small, tours run on set evenings and tickets are released in batches. Book before you plan the rest of your day around it.
Sources
- Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2019/787, Annex I - definition of gin, distilled gin and London gin (checked September 2026)
- Sipsmith - distillery tour and masterclass prices and times (checked September 2026)
- Sipsmith - frequently asked questions, including no walk-ins (checked September 2026)
- The Spirits Business - Beefeater Distillery closes visitor centre (checked September 2026)
- Beefeater Gin - the Kennington distillery (checked September 2026)
- Doghouse Distillery, Battersea (checked September 2026)