Whitstable HarbourGin

Darren Wilton and Justine Setterfield, who also run the Old Neptune pub on Whitstable beach, first talked about making a local gin in 2017 and spent three years testing recipes before settling on a final blend in 2020. Whitstable Harbour Gin launched in July 2021, distilled in copper stills and flavoured with sea buckthorn and samphire gathered from the surrounding coastline. Their harbourside shop, the South Quay Shed, opened in 2022 across two floors with seating for around a hundred people, selling bottles in two sizes alongside homemade gin marmalade, glassware and hampers. The business remains a small, family-run operation rather than a stockist-only brand, with the shop doubling as a tasting room for visitors passing along the harbour front.