Portobello Road Gin

What Portobello Road Gin does

Portobello Road Gin, the trading name of Portobello Road Distillery, is a London-based craft gin producer and experiential retailer founded in late 2011 by three longtime friends — Ged Feltham, Jake Burger, and Paul Lane. The business operates above a 19th-century drinking establishment on Portobello Road and is anchored by The Ginstitute, an educational gin institute where visitors learn gin's history and blend a bespoke bottle to take home, distilled using a 30L alembic copper pot still named Copernicus II. Its bottled product range is led by the flagship London Dry No. 171 (£29.50 per bottle), complemented by a limited-edition All Things Butter collaboration with chef Thomas Straker (£33.50, reduced from £39) and a Sloeberry & Blackcurrant fruit variant (£29.50, currently sold out). A secondary experience, The Whiskey Thing, extends the distillery venue into brown-spirit experiential retail.

The business generates revenue across four streams: bottled gin product sales, ticketed Ginstitute experience bookings, gift voucher sales, and on-premise retail at The Star venue. Distribution is multi-channel — DTC e-commerce with a £125 free-shipping threshold, Waitrose supermarket, Amazon marketplace, specialty retailer The Whiskey Exchange, and on-site sales at the Portobello Road distillery. The company serves three customer segments: gin enthusiasts and premium spirit consumers (primary), experience seekers visiting The Ginstitute, and the hospitality trade. The Ginstitute functions simultaneously as a revenue line and the central brand-building and community-formation asset, having earned editorial coverage in The Sunday Times.

The company is privately held, founder-owned, and operates with 11–50 employees from a single London location. No external institutional investment, funding rounds, M&A activity, or parent company relationships are disclosed. The firm is UK-domiciled, with no published revenue or growth metrics; operating geographies are concentrated in London with limited international reach via Amazon.

Name

Portobello Road Gin

Legal name

Portobello Road Distillery

Website

https://portobelloroadgin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Portobello Road Gin is a London-based craft gin distillery founded in 2011 by three co-founders, operating a 30L copper pot still and The Ginstitute educational experience. It sells flagship and limited-edition gins through DTC, Waitrose, Amazon, and specialty retailers to UK gin enthusiasts and experience-seeking visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Gin Distillery

NAICS

Distilleries (31214), Distilleries (312140), Beverage Manufacturing (3121), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Distilleries (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAG)

Keywords

• Craft gin production
• Premium london dry gin
• Copper pot distillation
• Gin distillery experiences
• Botanical spirit distillery

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Gin Product Sales: Sale of bottled gin products including Portobello Road Gin London Dry No. 171 and limited edition variants such as the All Things Butter collaboration gin.
2. The Ginstitute Experience: Educational gin experiences where visitors learn gin history and create their own bespoke gin bottle to take home. Revenue generated from ticket/booking fees.
3. Gift Vouchers: Sale of gift vouchers for experiences and products, providing flexible gifting options.
4. Retail Distribution: Wholesale distribution through retail partners including Waitrose and specialty retailers like The Whiskey Exchange.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Portobello Road Distillery produces and sells premium craft London Dry gin and limited edition gin variants distilled on a 30L alembic copper pot still called Copernicus II at its Portobello Road venue. Alongside bottled gin sold via its own e-commerce store, Waitrose, Amazon, and The Whiskey Exchange, the company operates The Ginstitute—an educational gin experience where visitors learn gin history and blend their own bespoke bottle to take home.

Product overview

Portobello Road Distillery is a London-based gin producer operating above a 19th-century establishment on Portobello Road. The company offers a focused portfolio of premium gins led by the London Dry No. 171 flagship, complemented by limited edition collaborations (All Things Butter) and fruit variants (Sloeberry & Blackcurrant). Beyond product sales, the distillery operates The Ginstitute—an acclaimed educational experience where visitors learn gin history and blend custom bottles using the Copernicus II 30L alembic copper pot still—alongside whiskey experiences at the Portobello Star venue. The offering combines physical products (bottled gins, gift vouchers) with experiential retail.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Ginstitute: London's premier educational gin institute offering in-depth journeys through gin's history, where visitors can create their own bespoke bottle to take home. Features Copernicus II, a 30L alembic copper pot still.
• The Star @ Portobello Road Distillery

Products and services

• Portobello Road Gin London Dry No. 171 The flagship London Dry gin distilled at the Portobello Road Distillery using a 30L alembic copper pot still called Copernicus II, recognised for its balanced botanical profile and noted as a best-selling product, priced at £29.50 per bottle.
• Limited Edition Portobello Road All Things Butter Gin A limited edition collaboration with chef Thomas Straker and All Things Butter, reimagining the Celebrated Butter Gin recipe, sold at £33.50 reduced from £39.
• Portobello Road Sloeberry & Blackcurrant A fruit-forward gin variant featuring sloe berries and blackcurrant, priced at £29.50 per bottle and currently listed as sold out on the storefront.
• The Ginstitute Experience An award-winning educational gin experience at Portobello Road Distillery in which participants learn gin history, explore botanicals, and create their own bespoke bottle to take home, conducted using Copernicus II, a 30L alembic copper pot still.
• The Whiskey Thing A whiskey-focused experience offered at the Portobello Star venue as part of the distillery's experiential offerings.
• Gift Vouchers

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• All Things Butter (Thomas Straker)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLimited edition collaboration reimagining Portobello Road's Celebrated Butter Gin in partnership with renowned chef Thomas Straker. The collaboration produced a limited edition butter gin variant sold at £33.50 (reduced from £39).

Scale indicators1 record

Direct peers

• Sipsmith: London-based craft gin distillery offering premium London Dry gin, distillery tours, and bespoke experiences — directly comparable in product, experiential GTM, and London craft positioning to Portobello Road Gin.
• Chase Distillery: UK craft distillery producing premium gin, vodka, and whisky with farm-to-bottle traceability and on-site experiences — comparable as a UK craft spirits producer leveraging terroir and hospitality.
• Edinburgh Gin: Scottish craft gin producer with on-site distillery tours and a wide retail range — comparable as a UK craft gin brand blending premium products with destination experiences.
• Hayman's Distillery: London family-owned gin distillery offering tours and a multi-SKU premium gin range — directly comparable as an independent London gin producer with heritage and visitor experiences.
• The London No.1 Gin: Small-batch London-origin gin positioned as a premium giftable spirit — comparable as an independent London premium gin brand sold through specialist and duty-free channels.

Broad incumbents

• Beefeater (Pernod Ricard): Long-established London Dry gin owned by Pernod Ricard with broad UK and global distribution — comparable incumbent competing for the same premium-gin consumer and UK supermarket shelf space.
• Tanqueray (Diageo): Mass-market premium London Dry gin brand owned by Diageo, present across global on- and off-trade — comparable London Dry category leader against which independent craft producers compete for shelf and consumer attention.
• Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill: Global premium gin brand (Bacardi) operating a flagship visitor distillery and experience centre in Hampshire — comparable in combining high-volume gin production with a strong experiential tourism offering.

Emerging players

• Whitley Neill (Halewood Artisanal Spirits): UK-based flavoured and traditional gin brand distributed internationally through Halewood — comparable as an independent UK gin brand with diversified SKUs targeting premium retail and gifting.
• Jensen's Gin / Bermondsey Distillery: London-based small-batch gin distillery producing a bartender-focused London Dry — comparable as an independent London craft gin producer targeting premium on-trade and specialist retail.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/portobelloroaddistillery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Portobello Road Gin