When in Salcombe make haste to Island Street to find one of Devon’s most famous exports – The Salcombe Distillery Co. It’s one of a growing number of regional gin distillers in a booming industry: sales of craft gins grew by 20% in 2020 as consumers showed their willingness to pay top dollar for artisan alcohols.

In Salcombe the distillery is a high profile success story, now exporting to China and hosting a gin school as well the distillery and bar. From producing its signature Start Point Gin in 2016, this gin with striking notes of citrus, coriander and juniper, is now part of a range of five gins that includes Finisterre, sloe gin Guiding Star, limited edition Arabella and a rum.

In 2019 visitors to Topsham’s first Gin Festival could choose from a range that put the region’s towns on a map of gin – Plymouth, Exeter, the Exe, Dartmoor and Exmoor, each determined to showcase extraordinary versatility and innovation in the distillation of the nation’s oldest spirit.

The cheekily named Wicked Wolf Exmoor Gin is made on the banks of North Devon’s River Lyn; blending eleven carefully selected botanicals including kaffir lime leaves, coriander and lemongrass, the result is a full of flavour 42% alcohol content spirt. It is produced in 100 litre batches and is available from www.masterofmalt.com.

Dartmoor Distillery blend two gins in the heart of the National Park. Still distilling by hand, they combine strong notes of citrus, wild flowers and red berries in their flagship Black Dog gin. It could be the Wild Beast that steals the show – with its 57% alcohol content, it’s not for the faint hearted. A Navy strength gin, brewed to guarantee a warship’s gunpowder could still ignite even when soaked with the spirit, it, like Black Dog, uses the free flowing spring water of Dartmoor as its base.

To the east along the River Exe, three gins are blended in small batches.

Exeter Gin celebrates the city’s Roman heritage and, while it’s hard to taste define the taste of heritage, this gin uses the ancient botanicals of tarragon, basil, cardamom and marigold alongside a further eleven ingredients to create a unique tasting experience. As well as Exeter Gin, this family run business blends Ivaar the Boneless, its own 57% proof Navy strength gin.

Nearby Exmouth distillery, Copper Frog, like its competitors, chooses to distil the spirit in a handmade copper still over an open flame to control the amount of heat to provide a superior mouthfeel. At 42% alcohol content, it sells for £42 for 700ml from the distiller’s website.

The Exe Gin takes its inspiration from the valley which runs from Exmoor to Exmouth, boasting citrus and spices. It’s priced at £35 for 700ml and is available at a variety of pubs in the region or online from the company’s website.

And last, but not least, two small distilleries that still punch above their weight in this highly competitive market – Dartmoor’s Papillion Gin based in Moretonhampstead, and Dartmouth English Gin.

Papillion’s distinctive blend of fresh gorse flowers from Dartmoor, rowan, hawthorn berries, chamomile, nettles, navelwort and Devon violets represents much of what this burgeoning industry presents gin fans today.

Overall it’s gin that is enjoying a revival but Waitrose reports it is craft gin that is driving the market. Sales of artisan brands were up 167% in 2019, compared with an increase of 30% for the mass-produced brands.