County Durham’s WL Distillery has announced another exciting new collaboration with Auckland Palace, which will see the multi-award-winning distillery producing the popular Lemon Balm Gin, which is infused with lemon balm from the Palace’s 17th century Walled Garden.
Auckland Palace, previously Auckland Castle, is the historic residence of the Prince Bishops of Durham. Recently renamed, the palace is part of The Auckland Project in Bishop Auckland and is a multi-site cultural destination that also includes the Faith Museum, the Spanish Gallery and Mining Art Gallery.
The collaboration is the perfect pairing for WL Distillery, a North East based gin distillery, which combines its passion for gin and the great outdoors by creating authentic tasting gins made with handpicked ingredients.
With an explosion of flavours, the inspiration at WL Distillery, with Founder Scott Wilson-Laing at the helm comes from their Northern roots, and his ethos to share his passion for gin with fellow gin connoisseurs everywhere.
Scott Wilson-Laing, Founder and Managing Director, WL Distillery said:
“Auckland Palace is such a historic landmark in County Durham and we are delighted to announce this collaboration. “Ingredients have always taken centre stage at WL Distillery and each bottle is infused with nature using handpicked and measured botanicals to ensure the freshest, and most authentic taste. Working with Auckland Palace is a perfect pairing for our brand ethos, and it’s a very special concept to infuse the lemon balm from the 17th century walled garden into our distillery process.”
Andy Nesbitt, Head Curator of Parks, Gardens and Landscapes at The Auckland Project, said:
“The Lemon Balm used in the new Lemon Balm Gin are grown in the heart of Auckland Palace’s newly renovated gardens. One of the goals when transforming the gardens was to ensure as much is harvested and used throughout the community – we have produce and herbs sent to Park Head Hotel and Bishop’s Kitchen, veg boxes donated to communities and most recently the Lemon Balm being used by WL Distillery to make the ultimate North East gin.”
Vibrant creations and continuous innovations are at the heart of the County Durham based distillery, and this collaboration heralds the second exciting brand partnerships in recent weeks.
WL Distillery have established themselves as a key player in the UK gin market, both regionally and nationally. Award-winning recognition quickly followed their debut to the market in 2020, with accolades including gold at The Gin Masters, listed in the London Spirits Top 100 spirits, through to making Vogues ‘Hot List’, GQ’s ‘Cocktail Club’ and being featured at London’s world-famous Science Museum.
