A practical read on people, supply chains, route to market and operations.
Between July and October 2025, we carried out the first industry-wide survey designed to reflect the full reality of UK distilling. The results are in and the Spirit of the Nation census captured responses from 138 UK distilleries, with 133 valid entries.
The picture is mixed. There’s confidence in people and capability, pressure in routes to market, and a pragmatic path ahead to boost tourism, sustainability and profitability all at the same time.
The results also underline the need for comparable data across categories and countries to inform policy, investment, grants, and industry insight.
With coverage representing around 25% of active UK distillers, this is a meaningful dataset for decision-making. Especially for the craft sector.
“”You can’t build policy, argue for funding, or even map where we’re going next unless you start with data. Other countries have shown this clearly – in the US and Australia, national surveys have helped unlock export support, skills programmes, and public investment.”
Olivier Ward, Founder of Everglow Spirits
From anecdotes to evidence: mapping the value distilling creates beyond duty
The UK lacks open, industry-wide views of how distillers operate. This census set out to change that by publishing raw anonymised data for free, and framing insights around practical levers that matter locally.
We wanted to finally map what’s being made, where, and to show the value the sector creates beyond case volumes and duty receipts. Distilling supports an ecosystem of skilled jobs, visitor economy activity, local suppliers, and creative IP. That story is rarely quantified or even captured in numerical terms, let alone in one place.
In other countries, this kind of dataset is collected at state and national level, updated annually, and free to access. Those regions use it to secure tourism and sustainability grants, shape export support, and make the case for industry-wide investment. We felt that UK producers deserve the same platform.
This project aims to provide:
- Comparable evidence across categories, regions, and time.
- Open data others can build on, audit, and cite.
- A shared baseline for policy, funding, and growth conversations.
Here’s the full background about how we ran it, the challenges, limits, and how to read the numbers.
“This isn’t about visibility for visibility’s sake. It’s about giving all producers the evidence they need to be heard, supported, and taken seriously – and to make the case for future growth, strategic planning, and long-term impact.”
Olivier Ward, Founder of Everglow Spirits
People, skills and capacity insights: where UK distilling’s capability really lives
The census data makes one thing clear: UK craft distilling runs on small, multi-skilled teams. Around two-thirds of sites operate with four or fewer full-time staff, yet the majority carry out production, fulfilment, tours, marketing and compliance under one roof.
This insights brief explores what that reality means for capability, training and operational resilience.
We look at how headcount, hiring intent and job mix align with training investment, QA discipline and process-control maturity to show where capability actually sits inside small teams.
When triangulated, the findings paint a picture of a sector that is multi-skilled, multi-tasking and people-driven. It shows where targeted skills development could unlock capacity without adding headcount, and how place-based training can strengthen rural and regional economies.
The People, Skills & Capacity Brief ends with practical recommendations distillers, associations and LEP’s can use to improve, support and advocate based on the facts.
Commerce, supply chain and resilience
The census reveals a sector that’s creative, resourceful, but commercially stretched. Most producers manage everything in-house and while this preserves control, it concentrates pressure on tiny teams.
This brief looks at how those challenges interact: how portfolio breadth adds complexity, how supply chains shape resilience, and how D2C, regional distribution, and export channels fit into the wider commercial mix.
The data shows clear patterns, where friction lives, where cash gets tied up, and where smaller producers are already punching above their weight.
From an insight perspective, the Commerce & Resilience Brief explores how tightening SKU architecture, harmonising packaging specs, and building depth rather than breadth of sales could protect working capital and raise velocity. It also looks upstream at the collective buying power of distilleries and downstream at export readiness and policy opportunity.
Tourism and sustainability: designing visitor economies that pay twice
Distillery tourism isn’t an add-on — it’s a channel, and the data shows just how much potential is still untapped. Across the UK, most producers already offer experiences in some form, yet visitor volumes remain modest and uneven.
The opportunity to drive revenue, repeat sales, and increase advocacy simultaneously is clear.
The census also highlights a strong link between tourism and sustainability. That connection points to a simple policy lever – support the visitor economy, and you accelerate sustainable practice.
The Tourism & Sustainability Brief looks at how small teams can integrate hospitality and production, how eco-visible upgrades deliver dual returns, and why regional trails, passports, and shared infrastructure could multiply impact without multiplying cost.
It finishes with practical actions for distillers, associations, and local authorities – turning tourism into an engine for both resilience and responsibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the census carried out?
Fieldwork took place between July and October 2025. The survey captured 138 submissions, with 133 valid entries after data cleaning.
How representative is it?
The dataset reflects around 25% of active UK distilleries, weighted toward craft producers.
Multinational producers were invited to participate but did not contribute data this time. As a result, the findings represent the craft and independent end of the market more strongly than large-scale production.
How should I read the results?
Treat this as a baseline, not a census of every distillery. Most responses are straightforward when viewed alone, but the real value comes from triangulating between datasets—for example, linking team size to portfolio breadth or tourism to sustainability.
The three themed briefs on this page unpack those connections.
How to cite?
Everglow Spirits (2025). Spirit of the Nation: UK Distilling Census.
The data is free to use so long as it is attributed, with a link to the hub page.
When quoting figures, include the year and please add that the sample is craft-weighted for context.