The Beefeater distiller in Kennington will throw open its doors tomorrow after closing when the coronavirus lockdown began several months ago. It will open from Friday to Sunday each week for guests.

The Plymouth site is the oldest working distillery in England, have made gin on a continual basis since 1793. It will reopen to visitors wishing to tour the distillery and visit the distillery shop. The bar will reopen later this month, with a takeaway cocktail service running for locals in the meantime.

Louise Ryan, managing director at The Gin Hub department of Pernod Ricard, said: “As the UK begins to ease lockdown rules, we’re delighted to re-open the doors of both our UK distilleries to consumers. ­Beefeater and Plymouth aim to create truly memorable experiences and convivial moments for our visitors, and we place the upmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our guests and employees.

“The Gin category has been remarkably resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic and I am extremely proud of the teams at both distillery sites for ensuring production continued, uninterrupted during the pandemic.

“We can’t wait for consumers to see the hard work and dedication that goes into making our hand-crafted, premium-plus once more.”

Pernod Ricard UK has donated £250,000 to industry charity The Drinks Trust during the pandemic, and it produced 20,000 litres of hand sanitizer for frontline healthcare workers at the Plymouth Gin distillery.