Visitors to a new bar in York city centre will be able to watch gin being made while sipping a cocktail, new plans reveal.
The Distillery will house an interactive visitor attraction, a high-end cocktail bar, and will make gin in a copper and steel still.
Run by the enterprising team at York Gin, it will also offer gin tasting, gin making and cocktail making classes – while a shop will sell the full product range.
Housed in the old Boots shop, The Distillery will be a second retail outlet and a first bar for York Gin, whose shop on Pavement has been crowned one of York’s best.
Bosses are busy creating the three-floor attraction in the old Boots store.
The artificial ceiling has been removed, revealing a ten-metre high structure. The Distillery will be on three floors, with the shop, gin experience and distillery on the huge first floor, the 200-cover bar on the second floor and space for classes and experiences on the third floor.
Emma Godivala, York Gin’s marketing director, said:
We want The Distillery to be so brilliant that it attracts people to come to York – like the Minster, the Jorvik Viking Centre and the walls.
The Gin Lane experience will take visitors through the incredible story of gin with the sights, sounds and smells of its history from the last 300 years. It will be a go-to experience.
The Distillery Cocktail Bar will be the place in York to enjoy a range of gin and other cocktails and paired dishes. The interactive classes will build on our reputation for brilliant, fun and fascinating activities for people to do with their friends.
The shop will be the place to buy world-class gin and top quality York-made souvenirs. All in all, we’re really excited to extend York’s reputation as a brilliant and interesting place to visit with a truly top class attraction right in the heart of the city.
Creating jobs
York Gin will be offering schemes for residents to enjoy cut-price admission and offers at The Distillery, as well as residents’ nights and opportunities for local artists and musicians to display and perform.
The Distillery is set to create around 10-12 new full time jobs and up to 20 part time, and will be open seven days a week.
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York Gin has been working with York-based Native Architects, local construction firm TekContracting, as well as other local businesses including Haywards Electric, Millers of Haxby and PurePallets so far.
“It’s absolutely vital to us to support and celebrate other local businesses – so whenever we have any work that needs doing, we always try to find someone York or Yorkshire-based,” Emma said.
The new bar is found close to two other popular Coppergate visitor attractions: stalwart the Jorvik Viking Centre, and the more recent success, wizard golf venue the Hole In Wand.
Plans for the conversion are now in with City of York Council. You can read them and comment on the planning portal here.