THE GIN PASSPORT ATLAS - DISTILLERY STORY- PINNED ON THE MAP - ASIA
KILO SPIRITS , Krabi, Thailand
Hidden away in the Krabi countryside, Kilo Spirits is exactly the sort of place I love discovering. It's a small, hands-on craft distillery making vodka, gin and rum, using locally sourced ingredients and combining traditional techniques with some seriously precise modern distilling.
While I was in Thailand on holiday in 2025, I had the pleasure of visiting Kilo and spending a few hours with Steve and Jay, who were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. It was one of those visits where you arrive thinking you'll have a quick look around and somehow end up talking spirits, recipes and future plans for considerably longer than expected! So late into the night that it was doubtful I'd get an taxi back to Krabi town and panic set in! (I did in the end!)
Steve brings a huge amount of technical knowledge to the business and is clearly someone who is fascinated by the process as much as the finished spirit. Kilo's whole philosophy is built around this combination of traditional craft and modern precision, which they describe as “Precisely Crafted”. They have even designed and built their own rectification equipment, allowing them to control the spirit extremely closely.
The business was founded in 2017, although the journey into distilling took a little longer to come to fruition. Thai regulations make producing and selling spirits considerably more complicated than you might imagine, so getting everything in place has been part of the challenge. Kilo has nevertheless managed to build a genuinely local operation in Krabi, working with Thai farmers and using the area's sugarcane as an important part of its production.
Their sugarcane journey starts with locally grown cane, which is fermented and distilled to produce a highly rectified spirit. Their current Kilo VDK is made from fresh sugarcane juice and is double distilled and filtered, producing a clean, creamy spirit with a slight sweetness.
The gin, Kilo GN, is built on this distinctive base rather than simply buying in a neutral spirit. It's a bold, aromatic spirit with citrus, spice and plenty of juniper, and Kilo describes it as a spirit that works particularly well with tonic and lemon in their signature GNT.
I was able to try several expressions during my visit, along with some new test recipes they were working on. This is one of my favourite things about visiting small distilleries — getting to taste the things that may never make it into a bottle. One of the experimental recipes in particular caught my attention and, with a tiny tweak or two, I rather hope it eventually makes it onto the shelves!
As well as being available in local outlets, Kilo has also been increasingly collaborating with hotels and bars, producing spirits and bespoke recipes for the hospitality industry. One particularly interesting recent project was Essence of Pimalai Gin, developed with Pimalai Resort & Spa on Koh Lanta. It took 52 tastings to arrive at the final recipe, with the brief being to capture the essence of Koh Lanta and Thailand using locally sourced ingredients.
After my visit, the conversation continued when I had a Zoom with Jethro Cramp, who is Steve's business partner in Kilo. Jethro has a fascinating background outside spirits, with experience in technology, entrepreneurship and international business, including working in London, China and Southeast Asia. He is now closely involved in developing Kilo and taking the brand onto the wider international stage.
We chatted about the business, the spirits they were developing and, naturally, spirits competitions. We talked about which competitions might be worth entering their gin into and how Kilo could get its spirits in front of a wider audience. I love that sort of follow-up — the conversation didn't simply finish when I left Krabi, and it was great to see how seriously they are thinking about the future.
Kilo GN has already received international recognition, including Silver at the London Spirits Competition in 2023, and I think there is plenty of potential for further recognition as they continue to develop the range.
What I particularly like about Kilo, though, is that despite the technical side of what they're doing, it still feels like a small, personal operation. Their distillery is tucked away in the countryside and visits are by arrangement rather than feeling like you're turning up at a large commercial attraction.
"Tucked away in the Krabi countryside Kilo are quietly making some very interesting Thai spirits"
A huge thank you to Steve and Jay for allowing me to visit, taste my way through the range and learn more about the business and their plans. I loved seeing what they're doing and, naturally, I'm already curious about what those experimental recipes might turn into!
Kilo is one to watch. I suspect we're going to be seeing rather more of them.
Atlas note: Kilo VDK also picked up Gold at the 2026 World Vodka Awards, winning Thailand Country Winner in the Varietal Vodka category and Silver for GN, their gin— another lovely bit of recognition for a relatively small Thai producer.
Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story.
