The craft boom
European craft distilling exploded after 2010 — small-batch gin, whisky, vermouth, amaro. Most cities below host both heritage distilleries and modern micro-distilleries; visiting both reveals how the category split.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh Holyrood Distillery (city center, single malt + gin), Pickering's, Port of Leith Distillery. Day-trip access to Glenkinchie (Lowland classic). Whisky tour buses from Edinburgh reach Speyside or Islay overnight.
Glasgow
Glasgow Glasgow Distillery, Clydeside Distillery (river-side modern), the Drum Distillery. Industrial-Glasgow whisky revival on the Clyde. £20 distillery tours include tastings.
London
London Sipsmith (the gin pioneer that legalized small-batch in 2009), Beefeater Distillery (Kennington), Hayman's, City of London Distillery. Gin tours £18–35 typical. Clerkenwell-Islington dense.
Cognac
Cognac (the town in southwest France, day-trip from Bordeaux) hosts Hennessy, Martell, Rémy Martin, Camus visitor experiences. Cellar tours €15–80 with tasting. The town small enough to walk between major houses.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam Bols House of Genever experience plus craft distilleries (Schiedam day-trip is the genever heartland). Genever predates gin and is unique to the Netherlands and Belgium.
Berlin
Berlin Adler Berlin Dry Gin distillery, Mampe (historic), Berliner Brandstifter. Distillery tours often combined with cocktail bar visits.
Strategy
Book directly with distillery (cheaper than agency). Driver-friendly distilleries provide alternative tasting samples. Craft beer the obvious counterpart for hop-side trips.