A truly family company, Karl, along with his wife Lindsay, are in charge of the still, bottling, management, sales & shipping of Forest Gin and Forest Whisky.

Their daughter, Harriet Bond, leads all foraging missions and is an expert in knowing the best spots for juicy bilberries & ripe raspberries.

Their goal is to make the best tasting gin that they possibly can, from the finest locally sourced ingredients where possible.

Tell us a bit about your business?
We are a small distillery nestled in a remote corner of Macclesfield Forest. Between 5 of us here, we distil Forest Gin and Forest Whisky each day. It is all done by hand and we bottle, market and distribute ourselves.

Tell Us About Your Role Within The Business?
I co-own the business alongside my wife, Lindsay. Lindsay is the practical one, so in charge of all distilling and bottling. My job is to ensure that the customer is happy with their drink, so I take care of all sales, marketing and the back-office stuff.

In your opinion, what is the most interesting/high profile/exciting project you or your business has worked on?
We find every single bit of it exciting, but personally, I love to see our products shipped around the world. There is an amazing luxury store in the heart of Tokyo, and our bottles have pride of place, alongside a photo of our family stood on a draughty hill on the outskirts of Macc!

How long has the business been operating and how long have you been based in Macclesfield?
We began distilling in 2014 from our kitchen table, so the product is very much Macclesfield born and bred.

What made you choose Macclesfield as a place to base your business?
I was born here, my family are all from Macclesfield, my daughter was born in the hospital here, and my business was born here. We had no choice in the matter, but we love it!

What’s the best thing about working in Macclesfield?
The people. Without a doubt, we couldn’t have grown our business without the local support of businesses and the Macclesfield public.

Do You Have Any Specific Future Goals For The Business That You Would Like To Share?
Our distillery tours and bar here are incredibly popular. We have the bar open Tuesdays to Fridays so you can just pop in for a G&T or a bottle of spirit. Tours and talks at weekends are also growing at a rapid rate. We are working closely with Visit Britain to ensure more overseas visitors know about Macclesfield and actually visit the place that they have seen in the photo in Tokyo.