An award-winning distillery has announced a partnership with Hopetown to bring a bespoke gin to the new visitor attraction to 'celebrate the year Darlington changed the world forever.'

County Durham's WL Distillery is teaming up with Hopetown Darlington to create the Hometown Gin, a 'zesty' lime-infused tipple for visitors.

Run by Scott Wilson-Laing, the distillery has earned multiple awards, including recently being named Gin Distillery of the Year 2024 in the Corporate Live Wire Innovation & Excellence Awards.

Visitor experience manager at Hopetown Darlington, Natalie Collins, said: "It's great to be working with WL distillery, a local gin distillery based in South Hetton.

(Image: Hoeptown)

"Their blend of authentic lime gin is very popular with our visitors both as a tipple in Clocktower café and as a gift purchase from our gift shop.

"The feedback from visitors on the zesty taste and bold branding has been amazing!"

Since its debut in 2020, WL Distillery has quickly made a name for itself nationally and regionally in the UK gin market, winning multiple awards.

Scott Wilson-Laing, Founder and Managing Director, WL Distillery, said: "This collaboration with Hopetown Darlington is a really exciting opportunity for the distillery to work with regional brands.

"Our roots are heavily based in the North East and it's great to strengthen both businesses by working together.

"We've got a host of exciting collaborations in the pipeline and we can't wait to announce these in the coming months."

Hopetown Darlington opened in July, taking over from the Head of Steam Darlington Railway Museum.

The £37m attraction, located on the old Stockton and Darlington Railway route, honours Darlington's railway history.

The town is known as the birthplace of the world's first steam-powered passenger railway journey.