There’s more to a good drinking session than knocking ‘em back at your local. For an elevated experience at the source, turn your favourite tipple into a themed short break, heading to the British distilleries, breweries and wineries that actually make the drinks. Then after a day of touring, learning – and yes, plenty of tasting – rest your head in a lovely stay nearby and sleep it all off.
Rosé in Kent
The drinking: Kent is English wine’s heartland, with more than 50 wineries pressing county-grown grapes and big names like Chapel Down and Balfour earning international attention. But if you have a particular thirst for rosé, head straight for lauded Gusbourne, which has bagged multiple gongs for both its still and sparkling pink wines. A variety of small group tours at sleek wood-lined visitor centre The Nest in Appledore might have you wandering through vineyards, pairing fizz with cheese, or cracking open rare icon wines ahead of a lazy four-course lunch. Afterwards, allow your wallet to be ravaged in the shop, where a range of bottles not sold anywhere else will have you clinking all the way home (hiccup). gusbourne.com
The stay: Only a 20-minute taxi from Gusbourne’s vineyard-lined grounds, 17th-century Boys Hall combines history – Charles I once stayed here – with an extensive drinks list. Settle into the cosy lounge with a nightcap of Penstock English Rosé or Westwell Pet Nat Pink before drifting up to bed. From £180, boys-hall.com
Gin in Cambridgeshire
The drinking: Given the spirit boom over the last decade, it’s hardly surprising many gin distilleries welcome visitors. But few offer an experience like that at Cambridge Gin – where top bottlings retail for over £100 a pop. Founder William Lowe set out to make his spirit differently, individually distilling fresh botanicals in an insanely labour-intensive (and expensive) process. Learn about his signature technique – and try making your own bespoke gin – in the countryside-wrapped distillery, a few steps from the River Cam in Grantchester. Then head into the centre of Cambridge to the brand’s sister Gin Laboratory, where specialised masterclasses run the gamut from cocktail making to truffle gin tasting. cambridgedistillery.co.uk
The stay: Sink another couple of G&Ts at the Garden Bar at Graduate Cambridge, then retire to a kitsch academia-inspired room, with floral prints and a terrace overlooking the Cam. From £189, graduatehotels.com
Single malts in Edinburgh
The drinking: Scotland = whisky, right? But you don’t have to go all the way to the Highlands to savour a rare dram, as capital Edinburgh is bursting with cosy corners for connoisseur-style sipping. Recently opened Holyrood Distillery distils right in the old town, in a former railway building, and will launch its first single malt this October – take an hour-long tour to learn how it’s crafted.
From here wander over to multi-story wonderland Johnnie Walker Princes Street, a boozy adult wonderland filled with live performances, chocolate and spirit pairings, and samples of the famous blended whisky straight from the barrel. Finish with a dram at one of the city’s dedicated whisky bars, such as SCOTCH at The Balmoral Hotel, which has 500 bottles to choose from. holyrooddistillery.co.uk
The stay: Stumble your way to the regal-chic environs of Gleneagles Townhouse, where opulent wallpapers and polished woods meet a cocktail bar, Lamplighters. Order a ‘Kidnapped’: Singleton and Talisker whiskies with stout syrup and Amaro Montenegro. From £325, gleneagles.com
Craft beer in Manchester
The drinking: Swap your usual London-brewed Five Points for a hoppy liquid taste of Manchester. England’s northern powerhouse city is currently trending for its revamped cultural scene, but it’s also the perfect thirst-quenching getaway for craft beer drinkers. Sip one-of-a-kind pints at brew bars like ÖL at Hatch and SEVEN BRO7HERS, then make for city favourite Cloudwater, which pours 20 different draft releases in its Unit 9 taproom on the Piccadilly Estate. Right next door is the brewery, and you can join a tour of the mash tuns and packaging line, led by one of the handful of people who actually make the beer. cloudwaterbrew.co
The stay: A 15-minute meander from Cloudwater into Manchester’s lively Gay Village, NYC loft-style Leven has industrial-modern rooms and a bar open until 1:30am. From £89, liveleven.com
Fizz in Cornwall
The drinking: As if the dramatic cliffscapes, golden beaches and rolling green interiors weren’t already enough, Cornwall has another draw: sublime English sparkling wine. The northern half of the county has a triangle of excellent stops to easily fill a day. Begin with contemporary Trevibban Mill, just outside Padstow, exploring the vineyards and orchards with a gold-winning Blanc de Noir in hand.
Further south, Knightor Winery runs guided tours of its winery until end of September – but its Portscatho restaurant, The Vine, is open year-round. To the east, Camel Valley, one of the best-known names in English sparkling, has an epic terrace overlooking the green and guided daily tours through the vines culminating in a tasting of its scrumptious Brut. camelvalley.com
The stay: Nearby, Fowey Harbour Hotel dishes up waterside views, afternoon teas and as many more glasses of Camel Valley fizz as you can handle. From £115, harbourhotels.co.uk
Rum in Devon
The drinking: When you can’t go to the sun-soaked Caribbean, go to Devon. Set just outside of Exeter city centre, carbon-negative Two Drifters maintains a commitment to the planet as well as making great rum, from raw molasses that’s distilled right on site by Gemma and Russ Wakeham.
Join a tour to learn about the renewable energy sources, closed-loop chilling system and eco-friendly sugarcane fibre labels. Then get stuck into a couple of drinks in the brand new bar, built from a tree that fell just down the road. By the time you get onto the Overproof Spiced Pineapple Rum, rippled with notes of tropical fruit and salted caramel, you’ll *almost* feel like you’re on the beaches of Jamaica.twodriftersrum.com
The stay: Make for Exeter’s city centre, where bartenders at Hotel du Vin – set majestically in a grand former eye hospital – will mix you up a decadent rum-infused piña colada to round off your day. From £80, hotelduvin.com
2-for-1 in Warwickshire
The drinking: Cosied among the bucolic landscapes of the Cotswolds, in a charming honey-hued building, Cotswolds Distillery ticks drinking boxes for two reasons: its delicate lavender-infused gin, and its trail-blazing single malt English whisky – the latter made from locally grown, floor-malted barley.
A general 90-minute tour through the still house and cask warehouse will give you a flavour of both spirits, or you can break out into specialised masterclasses in gin or whisky blending to suit your particular thirst. But then again, this is a holiday, so why not make a day of it and do all three? cotswoldsdistillery.com
The stay: Just a four-minute taxi ride from the distillery, Feldon Valley has lodges overlooking woods or lawn, a golf course and a restaurant. And, best of all, a bar that’s open late. From £145,feldonvalley.co.uk
Ale in Suffolk
The drinking: Maybe for you, nothing hits the spot like a trad ale. Among the many fine brewers of these is Adnams, founded 150 years ago on the coast of Suffolk. A day out at their brewery in charming Southwold doesn’t only provide seaside appeal, but also a chance to get up close with their grain-to-glass brewing process, sampling seasonal releases and limited-edition collaborations as you go. The tour ends a mere 10 metres from Adnams pub The Swan, so you can carry on nursing Pinots of flagship pale ale Ghost Ship in the airy taproom interiors for as long as you’d like. adnams.co.uk
The stay: Good news – the Swan has bright and contemporary rooms too, so all you need to navigate is the corridor to your bed after a lengthy ale session. Expect pink-painted four-posters, rolltop baths and seaside tones. From £250 theswansouthwold.co.uk
Cider in Gloucestershire
The drinking: With roots in Hereford – one of Britain’s cider heartlands – Dunkerton’s cider has been crushing apples for 40 years, so they know exactly what they’re doing. Now pressed, fermented and bottled in Gloucestershire, the brand (which is owned by Superdry co-founder Julian Dunkerton) got a boost with the opening of its slick Taproom in Cheltenham. Besides cider-soaked events like comedy and quiz nights, the space offers tours and masterclasses for fans of the appley bevvie. Things kick off with a half-pint on arrival, before taking in the pressing, fermenting, blending and bottling processes – and finishing with a cider and cheese pairing. dunkertonscider.co.uk
The stay: Also owned by Julian Dunkerton, No. 131 is in the heart of Regency town Cheltenham and gives good style with its panel-lined rooms in rich colour palettes. Sip on more cider in the Terrace restaurant or move onto the G&Ts at the lower floor Gin & Juice bar. From £120, no131.com
Natural wine in East Sussex
The drinking: East London may be brimming with esoteric natural wine bars, but head to East Sussex and you can sip low-intervention tipples right on the terroir that produced them. Tillingham, a 70-acre organic vineyard and winery just outside of Rye, bottles the kinds of vino rarely made on English soils – funky and biodynamic.
The visitor experience, set on a rambling old farm, lives up to the high wine standard with a tasting-menu restaurant serving veg from the on-site walled garden and guided 90-minute tours running through the winery and vineyards.
Still thirsty at the end? Just a 12-minute taxi away, Oxney Organic Estate turns out more ace low-intervention wines, from sparkling Chardonnay to still Pinot Noir. tillingham.com
The stay Book into one of Tillingham’s 11 serene bedrooms in a converted Victorian hop barn, and post-vino you can kick back in a bedroom with views overlooking ripening grapes. From £165, tillingham.com
