Tell us about the distillery and the business and why you wanted to make your own mark on English whisky?
Witchmark Distillery was founded because we genuinely believe English whisky is at a defining moment. It’s still a young category, which means there’s a huge opportunity to shape what it becomes rather than follow what already exists. From the outset, we wanted to build a distillery that could help set the benchmark for what modern English whisky should stand for in terms of flavour, provenance, sustainability and scale.
The Witchmark Distillery in the heart of Wiltshire
We’re based in Fonthill Bishop in southwest Wiltshire, just 12 miles from Stonehenge, and we have built one of the most ambitious distilleries in England.
From day one, the goal wasn’t to rush whisky to market, but to do things properly: grain-to-glass production, patient maturation, and spirits that genuinely reflect the land they come from. We filled our first whisky casks in 2024, with releases planned from 2027, and everything we’re doing now – from gin and vodka to our whisky club and cask programme – is about bringing people on that journey with us early.
What are your personal backgrounds and why did you want to go into the production side of drinks?
My own background is in experiential marketing — I’ve spent many years helping brands tell compelling stories, including many alcohol brands such as Carlsberg, Rekorderlig Cider, Jim Beam and Bacardi. There is, however, something very exciting and rewarding about the ability to work on a brand that you have nurtured and built from the ground up.
Coincidentally, my great-grandfather created Horlicks - so it appears malt-based drinks are in my blood.
Alistair Munro is an entrepreneur with 20 years’ experience running experiential marketing agencies specialising in one-to-one brand experiences.
Eddie Large is an intuitive leader and problem solver with 17 years’ experience running an artisan drinks business, an accomplished taster, Eddie is a judge for several spirits awards.
Going into production was about authenticity. When you make the liquid yourself, there’s nowhere to hide. It allows us to shape flavour, quality and consistency from the ground up, and it keeps you humble.
Great spirits aren’t built quickly - they are built through patience, precision and real respect for process.
You place huge importance on provenance — why Wiltshire?
The team behind Witchmark Distillery took their time to get the concept, the distillery, the brands and its marketing right and then bring them all together
Wiltshire gives us everything we were looking for. The chalk downlands are exceptional for growing barley, and the water beneath the distillery is naturally filtered through chalk and limestone aquifers, giving us incredible purity and softness.
Our barley is sourced from Fonthill Estate, home to our distillery, where regenerative farming practices are used to actively enhance biodiversity. That closeness - physically and philosophically - really matters to us. Whisky is an agricultural product at heart, and we wanted to make spirits that truly express where they’re made. Wiltshire gives us a sense of place that you can taste.
Your name has historical and local significance — what is that?
Witchmark is named after the medieval witch marks carved into the stone and wooden beams of the 17th-century barn that houses our distillery and visitor centre. These marks were believed to protect people, buildings and produce from evil spirits.
For a distillery, it felt almost too perfect. The name is rooted in the building, the land and centuries of English history. It gives us an identity that feels authentic rather than invented, and it connects everything we do back to place and protection — of quality, of craft, and of the future of the business.
Where are you sourcing your ingredients from and what makes them special?
The range of Witchmark brands
Our core spirit is made using locally grown barley from the Fonthill Estate and water drawn directly from the chalk aquifers beneath us. That combination gives us a beautifully clean, consistent base spirit with real texture and weight.
When it comes to gin, we’re very deliberate. We use classic botanicals as a foundation and then layer in carefully chosen ingredients that enhance rather than dominate. Everything is about balance. Because we control the process from raw ingredient to bottle, we can be incredibly precise about how flavour develops at every stage.
What style of whisky are you looking to make?
We’re focused on making elegant, expressive English single malts with depth and balance rather than overpowering intensity. Our stills - a 5,000-litre wash still and a 3,200-litre spirit still - give us both scale and control, which is a rare combination in English whisky.
Cask choice is critical. Although our core woods are new American oak, ex-bourbon and STR red wine, we will be playing with other woods such as Madeira, Sherry, Tawny Port and Islay. We will continue to innovate and explore maturation styles that complement the spirit rather than mask it.
You’re also making gin and vodka — what’s the thinking behind those?
Gin and vodka allow us to express our philosophy immediately. Our gins are single-origin and range from classic styles through to more adventurous flavour profiles, but they’re all built on clarity, balance and structure rather than gimmicks. There is nothing artificial in our bottles.
Our Single Origin English Vodka is distilled in small batches, limited to 1,000 bottles per run, and has already won Gold at the World Drinks Awards and Gold Outstanding at the IWSC. Our Single Origin Black Lime Gin also won Gold at the Global Gin Masters 2025.
Does gin and vodka help with cash flow while whisky matures?
Of course they help from a commercial point of view, but they’re much more than that. Gin and vodka allow us to build the Witchmark brand, develop routes to market, and connect with consumers long before our whisky is released.
They also help us refine our distilling approach - cut points, spirit character, consistency - all of which feeds directly into our whisky production.Uniquely, we use the malted barley that has come through the whisky production process to create our white spirits.
Tell us about your Gin School?
The Gin School has proved to be a good way to build up a strong community around the distillery and what it is trying to do
The Gin School is about openness and creating a memorable experience. We want people to understand how spirits are made, not see distillation as something mysterious or inaccessible.
Guests come to the distillery, learn the process, experiment with botanicals and leave with a deeper appreciation of craft. It’s a natural extension of how we think about brand building — invite people in rather than keeping them at arm’s length.
Any plans to make other spirits?
Our primary focus is whisky, gin and vodka, and that will remain the case. That said, we’re always curious and we have bottled our new make spirit which bartenders and whisky lovers are really enjoying.
If we do explore other spirits in the future, they’ll only happen if they genuinely align with our values around provenance, sustainability and quality but I’m sure we will be very busy with our whisky!
You and the senior team have strong brand-building experience — what’s been key?
We’ve been very deliberate about starting in our own backyard rather than spreading ourselves too thin too quickly. Building real traction locally, supporting our stockists properly and growing relationships on the ground has been far more important to us than chasing rapid national coverage.
We’ve also made sure our sales and marketing teams work in complete unison. Brand only works if it’s backed up at point of sale -that means supporting our partners and showing up consistently.
From our visual identity to the way we show up in venues, we’re focused on building something that feels authentic, distinctive and built for the long term.In short, it’s vital to have a cohesive team that understands the importance of brand building, not just selling, and that’s what Witchmark has.
You have a strong advisory board — what do you look to them for?
Perspective and challenge. Our advisory board includes some of the most experienced figures in global whisky and spirits, and we lean on them heavily when it comes to long-term decision-making - particularly around whisky maturation, portfolio strategy and scale.
Their experience helps keep us grounded and stops us making short-term decisions that might compromise the future of the brand.
Biggest breakthroughs so far?
Filling our first whisky casks in 2024 was a defining moment - it made everything feel real. Achieving B Corp certification with a score of 124.4, currently the highest of any distillery in England, was another huge milestone and a real validation of how we’ve chosen to build the business.
On the commercial side, seeing our gin and vodka win major international awards gave us early confidence in our production philosophy. That momentum quickly translated into listings - in under 10 months of trading, we secured partnerships with the likes of Hall & Woodhouse, Fuller’s, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Young’s pubs, Amathus, Harbour Hotels, The NICI and Butcombe Group.
Becoming the official spirits supplier to Bath Rugby Club was the icing on the cake and a brilliant endorsement of the brand at a regional and national level.
Biggest challenges?
Patience. Whisky forces you to think in decades rather than quarters. We’ve addressed that by building a balanced business model, forging strong partnerships, and setting out a clear long-term vision that the whole team understands and is aligned behind.
Investment is the other major challenge. The barrier to entry in whisky is very different from white spirits, given the significant upfront costs required for both production and raw materials.
Tell us about the Bath Rugby partnership?
Witchmark is the official spirits supplier to Bath rugby club
We’re the official spirits supplier to Bath Rugby in a multi-year partnership running through to the 2027/28 season. It gives us exclusive spirits rights across their venues and includes a co-branded Bath Rugby x Witchmark Gin.
It came about very naturally. A large part of our team are lifelong Bath fans, the distillery is only around 30 miles from The Rec, and we share values around heritage, excellence and community. It felt authentic rather than transactional.
How do you plan to stand out in English whisky?
By doing fewer things better. We’re combining true grain-to-glass production, scale, patience and sustainability in a way that very few English distilleries can. We’re not trying to be the loudest - we’re trying to be one of the most respected.
As a B Corp business, how challenging was that journey?
It was rigorous and intentionally so. B Corp forced us to interrogate every part of the business, from energy use and waste management to governance and community impact. It’s made Witchmark stronger, more resilient and more disciplined.
What are the key learnings from becoming B Corp?
That sustainability and commercial success are not opposites. When sustainability is built into the business properly, it strengthens everything else.
Tell us about the cask investment scheme?
Our cask programme gives people the opportunity to buy a cask of Witchmark single malt and become part of the whisky’s journey from day one. Owners can choose their preferred cask type - including ex-bourbon, virgin American oak or red wine - and follow the whisky as it matures in our bonded warehouse on the Fonthill Estate.
They’re encouraged to visit, taste its evolution over time and, when ready, bottle their own English single malt. It gives people a genuine stake in the process and a far deeper connection to the spirit we’re creating — it’s about participation, patience and sharing in the long-term vision of Witchmark.
* You can find out more about Witchmark Distillery here.
