3 of London's best micro distilleries

Think of a London-made alcohol and you probably jump straight to beer and gin. But while our railway-arch craft distilleries and micro-breweries are bottling top-notch London dry and double IPAs, some inventive boozers are branching out to make small batch, city-brewed rum, vodka and even the first whisky to be made in the capital for more than a century.

Here are three of the best distilleries boosting London spirit.

Stellacello

Forget the sickly Lemsip hit of a free limoncello. Stellacello might be inspired by such Italian digestifs but alchemist Joe Stella, whose lab is based in Bethnal Green, has added a healthy dose of London cool to produce Pompelmo: a super smooth, grapefruity liqueur that works quite brilliantly as a spritz with soda water or fizz. Try it instead of Aperol for a less garish sip. Then there’s Amaro, its latest product — a herbal, bittersweet liqueur that you can drink neat over ice as a digestif to look almost unbearably sophisticated. (stellacello.com)

East London Liquor Company

Glenfiddich what? Jameson who? London is about to get its very own whisky, the first distilled north of the Thames for more than 100 years, courtesy of the East London Liquor Company. The three-year-old Bow Wharf distillery, which also produces four different gins, a British wheat vodka and some dangerous sipping rum made from 100 per cent demerara sugar, will be bottling its first London Rye at the end of 2018, each with different barrel finishes for different flavours. Visit the distillery for its Whisky Lover’s Tour and Tasting. (eastlondonliquorcompany.com)

Our/London

Bottle-cap vodka? Yep, Our/London is that achingly cool. The Our/Vodka brand has equally cool micro-distilleries all over the world, with each sourcing ingredients from hyper-local producers. In the case of our capital’s voddy, that means founders Clive Watson and Neil Chivers use British wheat for a creamy, fruity taste and produce, blend and bottle all their spirit under the arches of Hackney Downs station. They also have a great space for regular vodka-fuelled events: head up on 17 August for a masterclass in drinking vinegars (yes, really) with Kylee Newton or Tom Hunt’s five-course Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Fire supper club on 1 September. (ourvodka.com)