Distillery marks fourth anniversary with tastings and live music

A CRAFT distillery in near Henley celebrated its fourth birthday with an open day.

Henley Distillery, which is based at Hampstead Farm in Binfield Heath, opened its doors to the public who enjoyed drinks in its courtyard as well as a look inside.

There were gin tastings, live music from the band Pure Fluke and children played games and had their faces painted.

Master distiller Jacob Dawson, who co-owns the distillery, which he founded along with his father, Alan, said the event was about thanking those who had supported the business over the year.

He said: “It’s a celebration of, not really our achievements, but the community that has helped us get to where we are today.”

Mr Dawson said that the event last year drew a bigger crowd than expected so the distillery had prepared for an increase in capacity this year.

He said: “We expected 100 last year and 400 turned up so we are bigger and better prepared this year. We’ve loved the journey in the last four years, and want it to continue.”

Mr Dawson’s father said it had been nice to see familiar faces come along to support the distillery.

“It’s buzzing,” he said. “There are lots of old friends of ours and there are lots of friends of the distillery who’ve been coming here for the last four years, which is wonderful.

“We have also been reaching out to get new people engaged with our wonderful family business that we’ve loved doing. It has been amazing to meet old friends and new.”

Rory McCoy attended with his wife Jo and children Alana, 13, and Aaron, 10.

He said: “We bought some of the rum before for my brother, and we heard there was a family day, so we thought we could come down. It has been great fun.”

Eva Rickett, who lives in Henley and came with her husband Graham, said she had sent bottles of the gin as gifts as far afield as Sweden and Thailand.

Team “Row with the Flow”, a group of three women who are embarking on a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic from La Gomera in Spain to Antigua in the Caribbean, were running a stall featuring an ergo challenge.

The Henley Distillery has partnered with the team to produce a special rum in support of their challenge. The crew is due to depart on the adventure alongside around 50 other crews in December and are raising funds for their trip.

Rosie Tong, 26, who grew up in Henley and now lives in Reading, said she wanted to take on the challenge after working at the River & Rowing Museum.

Ms Tong, a personal trainer, said she was feeling both nervous and excited about the challenge ahead.

She said: “I think we’re very busy with preparation, which is a helpful distraction.”