Hensol Castle Distillery launches first vodka line
The UK’s only distillery located within a castle has launched its first line of vodka. Award-winning Hensol Castle Distillery, based in Wales, is further expanding its range outside of the gin and rum markets.
After the continued success of its award-winning gins and the recent launch of its very first rum line, Hensol Castle Distillery is entering the vodka market with the launch of its new Hensol Castle vodka range.
Distilled in the cellars of the 400-year-old castle, Hensol Castle Vodka will be available both on- and off-trade and can be purchased by consumers directly through the Hensol Castle Distillery website. With an RRP of £30 per 70cl bottle, the vodka will be sold alongside the distillery’s award-winning gins and rums.
The launch of the new vodka range comes after the craft distillery teamed up with Tiny Rebel to create its very first whisky range. Beer wash, a by-product of the distilling process of craft beer, is used to create whisky, which in turn creates its own by-product, known as whisky wash. Hensol Castle Distillery has used this whisky wash to create a new single malt whisky (releasing in 2026), a small amount of this whisky that hasn’t been fully matured, called ‘new make’, has been used to create the new vodka.
Hensol Castle Vodka, using a base of five-times distilled potato spirit, is blended in the cellars of the 17th-century castle using pristine Welsh water sourced from the Brecon Beacons. Adding a unique twist, a hint of the upcoming ‘new make’ whisky spirit is blended together using the incredibly smooth potato base to highlight the complexity of the ‘new make’ spirit, setting Hensol Castle Vodka apart from traditional vodkas and making it the perfect sipping spirit.
The UK vodka market is the second largest in the world, with the volume consumed in 2024 expected to amount to 94.9m litres (78.8m litres at home and 16.1m litres out-of-home). While other spirits, such as gin, are increasingly gaining popularity, the vodka market is still expected to show a volume growth at home in 2025 by 1.8%.
Chris Leeke, managing director of www.hensolcastledistillery.com, said: “We’ve worked incredibly hard over the last few years to create a truly outstanding gin brand that has gone on to win many accolades, and we’re confident that our Hensol Castle vodka range is going to be just as popular. Vodka is one of the most versatile spirits on the market and will forever be a favourite tipple for many, even with other drinks – such as gin and prosecco – rising in popularity.”
Hensol Castle Distillery has the capacity to bottle up to five+ million bottles of spirits per annum. In the relatively short time since the distillery launched in 2019, its own three Hensol Castle gins have won numerous awards, including Best in Country at both the 2022 and 2023 World Gin Awards, plus an additional 15 gold medals won for contract bottling clients in 2023.
