The men who set up a secret cabin to make gin, and swim in the sea to find their ingredients

They launched just two months ago - and kept the project a secret from their partners for over a year

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Two men have launched a gin business in Porthcawl after keeping it a complete secret. It’s been a busy few months for the pair, who go swimming in the sea to collect seaweed for the product, and set up their own miniature distillery in a cabin by the sea without either of their partners knowing.

Best friends Chris Leyshon and Glen Loosemore grew up together in Bridgend, and realised there was a gap in the market for distilleries in Porthcawl, where they live now. So together, they did their business research and have now created ‘Porthcawl Gin' which launched two months ago after a year and a half of hard work.

They’ve created the brand around the lighthouse in Porthcawl, and are using local botanicals like gorse and seaweed, which is citrus-based. It’s all handpicked, and made at their cabin on the coastline. You can get more Porthcawl news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.

Read more: I ate at the cosy and unassuming seaside restaurant that's making a big name for itself with its food

As well as keeping their business a secret from their partners, they also hid it from their parents so that it would be a big surprise. Chris said: “Glen and I would meet up together to talk about things when we weren’t in earshot.

“Because of where the cabin is on the coastline it was sort of out of the way, so no-one knew about it as well. We did a bit of a reveal party with family and friends before we would launch the week after which was really cool, and no-one was expecting it.”

So far, Porthcawl Gin has already been a hit with local pubs, restaurants, golf clubs and rugby clubs. They were also able to sell it at the Royal Porthcawl show in May.

And the rest of the community are also on board. They even had a celebrity visitor coming to check it out, with Melanie Walters from Gavin and Stacey having a look around.

Chris said: “Melanie Walters got a bottle of it to take home and gave us some good feedback. People that come to see it are really impressed with it because our distillery is quite small and quirky.”

From the outside, the cabin is unassuming. It looks similar to a modern garden shed, or summer house.

But once you step inside, it's like being in a distillery that has been going for years. They've made the most of the space inside which is neatly designed to feel like any other professional distillery. And their gin-distilling equipment which the pair had imported from Germany also looks the part.

The pair are working on a “small batch basis” at the moment, according to Chris. This means they are producing around 70 bottles per distillation. They put in all the botanicals with a neutral grain spirit the day before so that all the ingredients mix in well before it is distilled.

The distillation process takes them four and a half hours, before everything is bottled and labelled so it is ready to go. They had to learn it all from scratch, which has been a learning curve as they are both still working other jobs.

Glen is still responsible for other various side hustles, and Chris is still working for a charity he has been at for 10 years. He said: “This is still a part-time thing, although it’s starting to really take off.

“A lot of the things we do are at evenings and on the weekends, and whenever we can do it really. The demand for stock has been really popular in the last few weeks.

“The great thing is, if it’s a Welsh product it’s amazing how many people just get in touch and want to support it, and we really appreciate that support from people.”

Gin and tonic has fast become one of the nation’s favourite drinks and the so-called ‘gin-aissance’ shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, Google searches for the term ‘gin distillery’ have grown 39% from 2019-2023 in the UK.

According to data from the South Western Railway, local distilleries in Wales have the potential to soar in terms of popularity. Aber Falls Distillery in Conwy is currently listed as the joint-fifth best distillery in the whole of the UK.

And for Chris and Glen, it seems the sky may also be the limit for them. Chris noted: “We want to make vodka as well. It’s about making it different, and there’s not many gins where everything is locally picked.

“We both really enjoy the process as well, and going for a swim to collect seaweed. We’re trying out different flavours at the moment, and there’s potential for us to do vodka, and maybe rum as well.”