Q&A session with Desmond Payne - Ginposium 2023

Desmond Payne & Christopher Hayman

50 years, eight gins, one Lifetime Achievement Award from The Gin Guild, an MBE and now the Ambassadorial role of Master Distiller Emeritus at Beefeater’s, Desmond Payne still isn’t quite ready to put his feet up.

A man who is determined to live in the present and concentrate on the exciting things that are going on today, who started out as a 19 year old a management trainee with Seager, Evans & Co, a London-based wine and spirits company which owned Plymouth Distillery.

Interviewed by Gin Guild Chairman Christopher Hayman with selected questions from Gin Guild members, this proved a highlight of Ginposium as we learned from the Legend, and announced that Desmond has accepted our invitation to become the Grand Rectifier of the Gin Guild in October 2023.