Distillerie du Morbihan

At Distillerie du Morbihan, the home of 56 Gin, the team is driven by a passion for the world of spirits and a desire to create the gin they themselves wanted to drink.

The story began with an English tradition. Preparing sloe gin is a long-established autumn ritual in the north of England, and for co-founder Claire Rychlewski it carried strong memories of warmth and shared moments with family and friends.

After moving to Brittany, she discovered that sloes grew abundantly along the coastal paths she walked with her husband. Introducing this tradition into her new life in France felt entirely natural.

The first small batch of homemade sloe gin, shared with friends in Larmor-Baden, sparked both curiosity and inspiration. What began as a personal tradition quickly became the starting point for a new ambition: to create an artisanal London Dry Gin.

Co-founder and distiller François Rychlewski brought a clear vision to the project – to restore gin to its former elegance by producing balanced, aromatic spirits using carefully selected ingredients sourced in Brittany, elsewhere in France and across Europe.

To realise this ambition, the founders undertook extensive training, including internships in England, professional training with Jamie Baxter, Master Distiller and creator of Chase Vodka, and in-depth recipe development workshops.

Distillerie du Morbihan opened in August 2023 with its first London Dry Gin, which went on to win a bronze medal at the 2024 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London and a silver medal at the French Drinks Awards.

In 2025, the distillery’s second London Dry Gin, Algaïa, received a gold medal at the Gin Guide Awards in London, followed by a silver medal at the IWSC, and later that year was awarded gold in the London Dry category at the French Drinks Awards, the only gin to receive gold in that category.