Bristol has two working micro-distilleries you can actually visit: Bristol Dry Gin, distilling in the medieval cellars under The Rummer on Corn Street, and Psychopomp Microdistillery, working out of a former grocery shop on St Michael's Hill. Between them you can book a hosted tasting flight, a casual drop-in sample, or a hands-on session where you distil and bottle your own gin. A Bristol Dry Gin tasting at The Rummer costs £33.60 per person; Psychopomp's make-your-own-gin session runs £115 for one person on a still, or £160 for two sharing one.
Bristol Dry Gin at The Rummer
Bristol Dry Gin is a micro-distillery set up in 2017 by two cocktail bartenders, and it operates out of the vaulted basement of The Rummer, a historic pub on All Saints Lane off Corn Street in the Old City. The range has picked up a string of awards, including two World Gin Awards and a Great Taste Award, across a line-up that now runs from citrus-led gins to a honey rum.
There are two ways to try it. The main option is the weekly Gin Tasting: you're met with a garnished gin and tonic on arrival, then guided through five gins by one of the distillers, who talks through the history and production behind each. Tonic and mixers are included, and a non-alcoholic spirit option is available if you ask when booking. Sessions run Fridays 7pm-8.45pm and Saturdays at 3pm-4.45pm and 7pm-8.45pm, and cost £33.60 per person. Bristol Dry Gin doesn't accept hen or stag parties for this session, and fancy dress isn't allowed; private and bespoke tastings can be arranged separately by emailing the distillery directly.
The looser option is to just drop in. The distillery is open to the public during the week, and speaking to a team member at the bar can get you a casual look at the stills, a sample, or a short tour, without booking a formal session.
Psychopomp Microdistillery on St Michael's Hill
Psychopomp has been distilling gin by single shot distillation since 2014, working from a converted grocery shop at 145 St Michael's Hill, a walk up the hill from the centre (the number 9 bus also stops nearby if you'd rather skip the climb). Alongside its signature Woden gin and an Old Tom gin, the distillery makes a rotating set of seasonal recipes plus a small range of other spirits, including a British aquavit and a Parisian-style absinthe. It's a certified carbon-neutral distillery.
Psychopomp runs a weekly Gin Masterclass: a gin and tonic on arrival, a guided walk through the history and process of making gin, a tutored tasting, and another gin and tonic to finish. It's booked through Yuup rather than directly on Psychopomp's own site, so check current pricing and dates there before you plan around it.
For something more hands-on, the Gin School sessions run on Saturday afternoons at 2pm. Tickets are £115 for one person working a still solo, or £160 for two people sharing one. You start with a tutored tasting, then work with the distillers to develop your own recipe, and distil a full-sized bottle of gin yourself on a small copper pot still, sipping the occasional gin and tonic while you wait. The finished gin is diluted to drinking strength, tested and bottled for you to take home.
Outside of booked sessions, the shop is open through the week if you just want to pick up a bottle, and the bar opens on Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday nights if you'd rather have a drink on site. The space can also be hired privately, holding up to 25 people inside and 10 more in the courtyard.
A word on "gin distillery tour" listings elsewhere online
Search for a bookable gin distillery tour in Bristol on a general experience-booking site and you may land on a listing that says "Bristol" but is actually built around 6 O'Clock Gin, a family distillery near Thornbury, some way outside the city rather than in it. It's a legitimate tour in its own right, built around a 1.5-hour visit with a welcome gin and tonic, but it's not one of the two city-centre distilleries above, and at the time of writing the listing we checked showed as sold out. Worth knowing before you book on the assumption it's a Bristol city-centre experience.
Comparing the two distilleries
| Experience | Area | What's included | Roughly how long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol Dry Gin: Gin Tasting | The Rummer, Old City (All Saints Lane, off Corn Street) | Welcome G&T, guided tasting of 5 gins with a distiller, tonic and mixers included | About 1 hour 45 minutes |
| Bristol Dry Gin: drop-in | The Rummer, Old City | Casual sample or short look at the stills, speak to staff at the bar | A few minutes, no booking |
| Psychopomp: Gin Masterclass | St Michael's Hill | G&T on arrival, guided history and process, tutored tasting, closing G&T | Booked via Yuup; check current length there |
| Psychopomp: Gin School | St Michael's Hill | Tutored tasting, recipe development, distil and bottle your own full-size bottle of gin | A Saturday afternoon |
Planning your visit
Both distilleries run on fixed weekly slots rather than being open for tastings on demand, so book ahead, particularly for a weekend session. If a hen or stag do is the plan, note that Bristol Dry Gin's tasting explicitly doesn't take those bookings; Psychopomp doesn't publish a stated policy either way, so ask them directly before assuming. For other daytime ideas that do work for a stag or hen group, see our stag and hen activity ideas guide.
If gin isn't quite what the group's after, Bristol's drinking scene covers plenty else worth a detour: our guides to the city's breweries and taprooms and best cider bars cover the beer and cider side, and our best cocktail bars guide is the one to check if you'd rather have someone else mix the gin into something more elaborate.