Hull to welcome fruit gin distillery and bar

Two entrepreneurs are set to open a combined gin distillery and bar in Hull, Yorkshire, next month after teaming up with distiller Jamie Baxter.

A still will be installed in Humber Street Distillery Co this August

Lee Kirman and Charlotte Bailey have invested £160,000 (US$200,000) in the Humber Street Distillery Co, based in Hull’s Fruit Market, which is undergoing a £80 million transformation into the city’s first ‘urban village’.

The venue will officially open on 15 April and its £50,000 150-litre still will be installed in August – in the same year as Hull celebrates being the UK City of Culture. The opening will create up to eight full and part-time jobs.

Reflecting its location, Humber Street Distillery Co will create fruit-flavoured gin. Kirman and Bailey have enlisted the help of Jamie Baxter, known for his work at the City of London Distillery, Burleighs London Dry Gin and Chase Vodka, to kickstart production.

Once the distillery is operational, guests will have the opportunity to attend tasting sessions and masterclasses on gin-making and will also be able to distill their own gin from a miniature still brought to their table.

The bar will serve 100 different varieties of gin, “unusual” spirits, craft beer and snacks.

Kirman and Bailey are behind the rejuvenation of the nearby Minerva pub, one of Yorkshire’s best-known hostelries, and have also hosted two Minerva Gin Festivals over the last 12 months.

“We took inspiration from bars in cities such as London and Edinburgh, but wanted to take it a step further by distilling our own gin on the premises,” Kirman said of Humber Street Distillery Co.

“We knew we could make a real success of it because gin is seeing such a resurgence in popularity. We stock around 50 varieties of gin at The Minerva and they go down really well with our customers. Our first gin festival last October was also a great success.”