La Côte Distillery : Meet the producer
Nestled inside an unassuming shop on La Motte Street in St Helier, La Côte Distillery is putting Jersey spirits firmly on the map. Founded by Alex a decade ago in his parents’ garden shed, this distillery has grown into Britain’s most southerly grain-to-glass distillery, crafting small-batch gins and vodkas from scratch on the island.
Combining traditional distilling techniques with a spirit of innovation, La Côte champions Jersey’s local produce, growing its own botanicals wherever possible and working with island farmers to create spirits with a genuine sense of place. It’s also home to the island’s only Gin Lab, where visitors can go behind the scenes and even create their own bespoke spirits.
As La Côte Distillery celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026, its journey from a garden shed to a pioneering island distillery is a story of experimentation, craftsmanship and a passion for doing things differently. We caught up with Thea and Alex to go back to where it all began, find out what makes their spirits distinctly Jersey, and discover the secrets behind a really good G&T.
You’ll find La Côte Jersey Gin, Alfresco Gin and Rock Vodka stocked at your Millennium Park and St Peter’s Village Coop stores.
Where did your journey begin?
Alex start by telling us "I started La Côte Distillery 10 years ago in my parent's Garden Shed in St. Clement! I was home brewing beer at University and thought I’d like to see a distillery on island, as see where I can take this. 2026 celebrates 10 years in business. We’ve now moved out of the garden shed, created a whole range of locally made spirits, and have a shop and distillery on La Motte Street in St. Helier."
What’s unique about La Côte Distillery?
We’re Jersey’s only distillery producing Genuine Jersey marked Gins and Vodkas.
The mark is held by products created on island, and for spirits this means creating the alcohol from the raw agricultural ingredient here. We don't bring any alcohol in from off-island, we make it in small batches right here in Jersey. We’re really proud to have this accreditation, and it highlights the work that goes into making alcohol the way that we do.
We’ve also opened the islands only Gin Lab. We take guests behind the scenes, and host workshops where you can become the distiller for the day, learning about the alcohol making process, and choosing your own botanicals to make your own custom spirits.
What’s the process?
Making quality spirits with quality ingredients and not taking shortcuts has always been a big part of the way we do things.
We start with high quality, floor-malted barely. We brew it, ferment it, and distill it into a clear and clean neutral alcohol. We then distill and dilute that to make our Rock Vodka, or distill it again with carefully selected, and often homegrown botanicals to create our range of premium island gins. The whole process from opening a sack of grain to finally bottling the spirits can take up to a month. It’s a lengthy process but it’s worth it.
And how should islanders serve your spirits?
We don't like to over complicate things when it comes to drinking our spirits. For us, a good gin and tonic with a slice of lemon can be perfectly simple and refreshing.
Our Jersey Gin is a classic yet citrus forward gin that has herbal undertones. It pairs really well with a good quality tonic, such as Fevertree refreshingly light, or Fevertree Mediterranean. If you can, we also recommend using fewer but larger ice cubes. They melt slower and don't dilute your drink too much.
Rock Vodka has a lovely natural sweetness to it that comes through from the malted barley. It makes a great addition to cocktails where you’d like to add just a little sweetness without it being overpowering, like an espresso martini.
Want to find out more?
Visit their website to learn more or grab a bottle next time you shop with us to experience the taste of La Côte for yourself.
