I tried a few Hooting Owl gins at a charity event early in July and realised quickly that the West Yorkshire one was likely to become a firm favourite with the East Yorkshire, whilst very different, n... See more
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Went into the pub and loved the place, the staff were knowledgeable and talked enthusiastically about the rums, vodkas and gins distilled on site. They let us sample a couple of drinks and we were... See more
From start to finish the tour was just brilliant and so much fun. Tom is a great host, so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the distillery and all it's products. We tasted so much quality gin and r... See more
Fab place, good food and great gins. The tour/gin tasting was a great experience, Tom our guide is very knowledgeable and has a great sense of humour. The gins are all really good, some great flavours... See more
Company details
- #11 of 24 best companies in Distillery
- #3 of 11 best companies in Bar
Written by the company
The Hooting Owl Distillery, based within the ancient city walls of York, we take inspiration and flavours from around the Yorkshire region to create a top-quality range of hand-crafted, small batch spirits. The company’s was founded at Barmby Moor House, once a famous public house and iconic coaching inn, is steeped in history spanning several centuries. Tired horses would be changed here after the gruelling journey from York over ‘The Black Moor’ and it’s reputed that a young Queen Victoria stayed at the house, the master bedroom still being known today as The Queen’s Room in her honour. Making good use of the extensive old stable building at Barmby Moor House, Hooting Owl is home to a fully equipped craft distillery, expertly distilling a range of traditional dry gins and other premium craft spirits combining a carefully researched and selected blend of botanicals. Inspired by the story of the house itself and by the geography, culinary heritage and abundant produce of Yorkshire, Hooting Owl also adds a hint of family and military history to the mix. The Story of Sir Owlfred The curious, whimsical story of The Hooting Owl Distillery and the legend of Sir Owlfred Tyton Hodgins, is as captivating and mysterious as the history of Barmby Moor House itself. When Dom acquired the old Yorkshire manor house at Barmby Moor in 2017, they embarked on an extensive restoration of the historic property. It was as the couple were refurbishing the old scullery that they stumbled across an intriguing, concealed floor safe which had belonged to a former resident of Barmby Moor House, Sir Owlfred Tyton Hodgins. Hiding within was a single bottle of Sir Owlfred’s Hooting Owl Signature Gin and an old book containing many of his secret recipes. Tied carefully to the book was a small diary of his development journey which he had titled ‘A Tour of Yorkshire’. The diary, embellished with drawings of his distillery, clearly showed it had been located in the stable buildings to the back of the house, buildings which still existed, albeit in a somewhat dilapidated state. This extraordinary discovery began a new, exciting chapter in the Hooting Owl story. Dom, as Sir Owlfred had done before them, set out on a journey which was to draw inspiration from all four corners of Yorkshire to lovingly distil a range of high quality artisan spirits in the very location it was thought to have begun in 1865. Today, the ethos of The Hooting Owl Distillery is heavily influenced by Yorkshire and is intrinsically woven with the story of Sir Olwlfed, the name Hooting Owl deriving from the prominent golden owl statue that takes pride of place above the entrance to the house – affectionately addressed as Sir Owlfred Tyton Hodgins.
Contact info
1 Rougier Street, YO1 6HZ, York, United Kingdom
- 01904 501911
- info@hootingowldistillery.co.uk
- hootingowl.co.uk
Happy Memories
After doing the tasting tour in September it was great to be able to buy the gins at a later date.
Well packed and quick delivery.
Perfect item as an extra Christmas gift.
Thank you .
9 September 2025
Old dog, new tricks!
Not really a big gin drinker but rhubarb and vanilla is just sublime.
I was introduced to it by Roger at the Greenfield Inn, so many thanks to him as well!
1 December 2025
Excellent service
Excellent service - dealt with in a very timely manner and very clear on delivery instructions.
28 November 2025
Great experience
Great experience, staff helpful in explaining the drinks selection, Rum selection especially amazing. Highly recommend
1 December 2025
Unprompted review
All the Hooting Owl Products are…
All the Hooting Owl Products are fantastic! The order arrives so quickly, literally next day on both my recent orders. Highly recommend to anyone who has not tried Hooting Owl Products.
11 November 2025
Excellent value and great tasting
Excellent value and great tasting, Tom provided plenty of information about the gins. We tasted 6 different gins plus a rum and had 2 drinks as well and given a gin glass....well worth the £30
26 November 2025
Unprompted review
Eton Mess gin
I bought the Eton Mess gin as a gift. It arrived before the estimated delivery date and was packed very well.
The person who I bought the gin for informed me that it was amazing.
It was the second time that I have ordered from this company and it certainly won't be the last.
3 November 2025
Hooting Owl Spiced Rum
Arrived very quickly, well packaged, 2nd bottle of the spiced rum I have had and I thoroughly enjoy it.
10 November 2025
Spiced orange gin was great and will…
Spiced orange gin was great and will have to come back again soon for another bottle. I will have to sample some beers while they retrieve my order, overall a good experience even though a tad expensive but worth it as a treat.
1 November 2025
great gin
great gin, and the ordering, shipping and relevant communication was good. If i had a gripe it would be your initial indication of shipping period is quite a way in the future, this may deter people from ordering
29 September 2025
Fantasy afternoon
On our arrival we had a lovely warm welcome from Tom and the bar staff, plus a free drink as well, 🥂 the tour of the distillery was very interesting, the gin, and rum tasting was fantastic Tom was very knowledgeable. And very good at his job, we tried about 10 different gins and rums, with Tom telling us all about them and what is the best mixer to go with them , at the end of the tour we all got a free engraved gin glass with our names on lovely touch fantasy day,
16 October 2025
Unprompted review
Absolutely Brilliant
The Hooting Owl Distillery is a fantastic place to visit. We did the distillery tour and tasting which was a brilliant experience, all the more so for Tom who made it a truly memorable time. Would highly recommend booking the tour to anyone who loves gin.
9 October 2025
Unprompted review
Great tasting gin, no impurites and no headaches!
All of the Gins distilled by the Hooting Owl Distillery are really nice and my favourite is the East Riding Gin.
What makes it especially nice is knowing that during the batch distillation top & tails are discarded so any impurities are removed. In a continuous processes used by the large producers, this does NOT happen.
22 September 2025
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