Distillery websites should look as good as their gin, whiskey, rum, or tequila tastes with impactful images that showcase their products, as well as interesting content that effectively captures the company's brand ethos of quality and craftsmanship. Age identification pop-ups are also important to ensure only individuals of legal drinking age can gain access to the site's services.
Have a look at these 5 sites we reviewed to get an idea of what a great website should look like, and create your own with our distillery AI website builder.
Zarla checks that sites meet basic web standards for mobile and desktop. We also use Google's PageSpeed Insights, and WAVE, a service that evaluates accessibility for individuals with disabilities. PageSpeed scores and accessibility are important factors for search engine rankings. PageSpeed scores may not match user experience and can vary substantially.
https://www.georgianbayspiritco.com/
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada
Georgian Bay Spirit Co. is an award-winning craft distillery that produces a wide range of high-quality alcoholic beverages, including gin, vodka, and whisky. The website's minimalist design elements effectively communicate the company's character, denoting ideas of quality and balance.
Visitors are introduced to the brand's product offerings with a stylized hero image of their anniversary-addition gin, along with an introductory paragraph that places an emphasis on the distillery's location.
The well-spaced page layouts ensure visitors can easily browse the website, which features an engaging product page with high-resolution images. The use of large typography and ample white space on the home page ensures optimal readability.
WAVE picked up several errors on the website, indicating insufficient contrast between some of the headings and the blue background. The text on the "Drinks" page is quite small and hard to read, which may impact overall usability.
The desktop site presents a straightforward user experience, embracing clean lines and sleek aesthetics to allow the high-quality images to shine. The home page's large headings ensure optimal readability, but other pages have smaller text that could be sized up for a better reading experience. On Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the website's SEO and best practices are both optimal with 100/100 scores.
The mobile website remains user-friendly and attractive with crisp images, although the hero image is missing. While users can easily find vital information on the site, the hamburger menu and search tool aren't sticky, which may impact the overall user experience. Contrary to real-world experience, the website has an average PageSpeed performance score of 50/100.
Edinburgh, Scotland
Edinburgh Whisky is a family-owned business that specializes in maturing and bottling single malt whisky. The website's refined color palette and sophisticated imagery effectively advertise the company's premium and high-quality offerings, while the simple-to-navigate page layouts ensure a great user experience.
The website's high-resolution images effectively capture the natural beauty and elegance of the business' location, while the smooth browsing experience allows readers to easily explore the product's diverse flavors and expressions, read more about the company's origins, and shop their product range.
The website's tartan-inspired background ties in with the company's Scottish heritage and adds an interesting design element to all pages. The "Our Social" section encourages increased user engagement. WAVE picked up only a few contrast errors throughout the site, indicating optimal readability.
While the shopping process is intuitive, the site would benefit from additional sections, such as blog posts and client testimonials, to enhance the company's online presence. Additional CTA buttons toward the top of the website would be beneficial for optimal navigation.
The desktop website leans on clean and professional design elements rather than content-dense pages to advertise the company's products, creating a simple yet user-friendly experience. The dark background theme allows the lighter text to pop and ensures easy readability, although the social media links in the top-right corner and in the footer menu could be enlarged.
The mobile site performs well with seamless navigation and tasteful design elements that allow the high-resolution images and content to shine. The shopping experience remains straightforward and users can easily contact the company via its online form. However, according to Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the website's page loading times are quite slow and PageSpeed performance score is average at 50/100.
England, U.K.
Bush Rum produces traditional Guyanese rum blended with tropical fruits and spices in the U.K. The website's vibrant color scheme and fun design elements create a cohesive branding experience focusing on Caribbean flair — the dynamic imagery and island-style motifs blend nicely with the informative content and page layouts.
The company emphasizes its environmentally-conscious approach to rum making with a comprehensive section on its recyclable packaging and sales donations to ocean-focused charities.
Visitors can peruse the website's selection of content-rich pages and learn more about the company's sustainability practices, its diverse product range, cocktail suggestions, and online purchases. The "In The Press Section" lends credibility to the site with a variety of client testimonials.
The website does not perform well on WAVE's accessibility test, which picked up a large number of contrast errors. A more comprehensive "About" section would add a personable touch to the site, as would images depicting the distillery and/or staff members.
The desktop site presents as visually engaging with large images and bright color accents that complement the casual-looking design elements. While readers can easily access vital information with additional page links in the footer menu, the text is quite small and should be enlarged for easier readability. Shopping for the company's products also seems intuitive, enhancing the overall user experience.
The mobile website retains its colorful appearance and captures the company's essence through the use of good product placement and informative content. However, as with the desktop version, the website would benefit from additional images and/or videos of the business premises, its staff, and other personable elements to ensure visitors have a holistic overview of the brand.
On Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the site scored 51/100 in the performance category, likely due to its slow-loading pages.
https://victoriadistillers.com/
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada
With over 10 years' experience in the distilling industry, Victoria Distillers specializes in crafting a wide range of spirits, including gin, vodka, and brandy. The website features personable imagery depicting the company's idyllic waterfront location, which gives visitors a glimpse into its distilling process and commitment to excellence. The company's sustainability practices are also highlighted on the site, adding a sense of authenticity to the brand.
The website allows users to explore the distillery's product range with ease, and the inclusion of detailed product descriptions is ideal for serious buyers. While the company is currently not offering tours, the addition of an online contact form and location map ensures visitors know where to find the distillery for a tasting experience.
According to WAVE, the website has several contrast errors. While the site does not feature an online shop, pricing can be added to the product descriptions to give users a more holistic overview. The addition of blog posts or a news section would increase the website's overall appeal.
The desktop website showcases the brand's professional and elegant aesthetic with visually engaging images and content. While the no-frills page sections may be seen as sparse, vital information like the company's operating hours and location are prominently displayed. On Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the site has a good performance score of 97/100.
The mobile site features well-organized content and high-resolution images that ensure a good user experience. The hero video and location map both slim down nicely without losing functionality. However, according to Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the site's page loading times are slower than average which may contribute to its performance score of 71/100.
London, England, U.K.
VIVIR Tequila produces premium, award-winning tequila made from 100% Agave. The company's products are crafted and aged in Mexico and then sold throughout the U.K. The website balances elements of sophistication and minimalism with simple page layouts, refined color accents, and high-quality images. Visitors can easily read about the brand's diverse tequilas and responsible farming practices, as well as shop its product range online.
The FAQs section gives users solid information on the company and its unique distilling process, as well as online purchases and product information. The brand's promotional offers are prominently displayed on the home page, as are its accolades, which adds a feeling of authenticity to the site.
WAVE picked up several instances of insufficient contrast ratios across the website. The addition of a social media feed section or blog posts would be beneficial for optimal user engagement.
The desktop site effectively captures the brand's upscale image with elegant design elements, including dark color accents and high-resolution images. The site is easily navigable with a search bar and ample page links, and the online shopping experience seems user-friendly. The website's pages load reasonably quickly and its performance score of 90/100 on Google's PageSpeed Insights test is quite high.
The mobile version is visually appealing with high-quality images and well-organized content creating a cohesive and seamless user experience. However, the addition of more prominent CTA buttons would make site navigation more intuitive. On Google's PageSpeed Insights test, the site's performance score of 92/100 indicates optimal page loading times.
You can use Zarla's AI website builder to create a distillery website and update it free of charge for up to 30 days. Payment is only required once the website goes live.
We've curated a collection of the best distillery website examples to inspire your own site design.
