Established back in August 2017, Forgan Distillery began its journey with one goal in mind, to create high quality, locally sourced spirits that would change the face of modern alcohol.

Working with local businesses and approaching spirits from a different angle was the main driving force behind owner and spirits-enthusiast Philip Robbins’ approach. Fed up with low-quality, cheap and cheerful gins, he set out to give old classics a modern facelift.

Offering completely handcrafted gin, oak-cask aged single grain single cask corn spirit (bourbon) and rum, Forgan Distillery has put its name on the map as a distillery you can trust, only creating spirits for true spirit lovers.

Based in the coastal village of Banks in Lancashire, Forgan distillery came to fruition somewhat ironically. After a gin-fuelled wager with his brother-in-law one evening, distillery owner Philip Robbins decided to take the leap and leave behind a reliable thirty-year career in engineering and IT to pursue his love for great spirits. What began as a way to create fantastic gin soon turned into more, with whiskey and rum also now being on offer as you can see today.

No great story starts off the same, and Forgan Distillery is no exception. After years holding a strong aversion to gin, it was as a result of an otherwise empty alcohol cupboard that the now proud distillery owner Philip explored the world of gin. The exploration did not stop there, and soon became a hobby, which involved distilling any alcohol he could get his hands on! With a passion for the science behind distilling and being tired of spending money on low-quality gins that offered no originality, Philip decided it was time to pour his passions into creating and running his own spirits business, and so was born Forgan Distillery.

Forgan is a family name, dating back all the way to 1625 to William Forgan, born in Fifeshire, Scotland, William Forgan was the founder of the hamlet of Forgan, near St Andrews, and Philip is proud to be a direct descendant. It has been family tradition that every generation has one boy with the middle name Forgan, which Philip holds proudly.

Philip spent a year applying for a full distiller’s license instead of the easier to obtain rectification license, the full distillers license allows him to create alcohol from scratch instead of buying it in, giving him absolute control over the quality and integrity of his products and really emphasising the importance of handcrafted, high quality produce. Forgan Distillery prides itself on honesty and transparency, and the process of learning, experimenting and often ruling ingredients out is one, which has been proudly documented on our blog, for all to see.