Our Story...
Our company began life in 2015 when our head distiller, Luke Wheadon, first bought a small 1.5L copper alembic still and what started as a passing interest in the process of distillation, resulted in the creation of the Channel Island’s favourite gin.
After many iterations, recipes and tweaks, Wheadon’s Rock Samphire & Pink Grapefruit Gin was released to the public in Summer 2016 to a surprising amount of praise and success.
The small 1.5L still was soon replaced with a 20L still, and then not long after, by our first 230L Hybrid Müller still, affectionately named ‘Old Nick’ after Luke's late father. This larger still allowed us to keep up with the continued production and demand. The Bella Luce hotel in Guernsey became home to Wheadon’s Gin, and we soon went from producing 20 bottles a week to around 500. The enormous support from Guernsey and its Islanders allowed Wheadon’s to develop and grow and due to the continued success of the brand, we decided to expand into Jersey, Guernsey’s larger sister Island, in 2019.
We proudly opened Jersey’s Sail Loft Distillery in November 2019 and released our award winning Indica rum. Our new 370L Hybrid Müller still 'Sophie' allowed us to continue our work with the intention of becoming the biggest spirit producer in the Channel Islands, making products with integrity, passion and character.
The Wheadon family exited the Bella Luce hotel in 2022, and the property that housed Wheadon’s Gin & our Guernsey distillery closed its doors for the last time. 'Old Nick' was packed away into storage and we began the search for another location in Guernsey.
During this time, full production was moved to Jersey. We innovated and released multiple new products, including our ever-popular Indica Spiced Rum. We worked with charities, corporates and even artists to create new liquors that would delight and challenge the palettes of locals and visiting tourists alike. Our tasting sessions became and remain to this day the #1 attraction in St. Helier, Jersey (TripAdvisor) and our thirst for experimentation and creativity only grew.
In June 2024, we finally opened the doors to our new Guernsey Distillery. Now based at the St. Peter Port Harbour, The Vivier Bunker, a disused & brutalist concrete World War 2 German generator store, now houses ‘Old Nick’ and everything else CI Liquor Co.
We are nearly 10 years into our story so far, and there is a lot more to come…