An award-winning chocolatier inspired by his Italian father's recipe for limoncello has opened a gin distillery in a medieval North Wales town.
Mark Baravelli, whose father hailed from Bologna, used to serve a drop of limoncello to his loyal customers over the festive period at the Baravelli's chocolate shop in Conwy.
But when he started making his own gin - called Cocoacello - and presented it to his customers, nobody touched the limoncello and Mark knew he was on to something.
He said: "Cocoacello is made out of the husks from the cocoa beans - it's a by-product.
"We spent about £4,000 to £5,000 on distillery equipment and started distilling our own gin above the shop.
"We've so far made 200 bottles of Cocoacello and 142 bottles have already sold. The feedback we've had has been brilliant.
"It has quite a chocolatey taste, but isn't too sweet. I think people trust us to develop a quality product and I believe we have managed that.
"A lot of gin on the market isn't really the real thing - gin should never be coloured, for instance."
Mark and his wife Emma run the shop, where all the confectionery is made on the premises.
"In the New Year, we will be offering courses in gin-making," said Mark.
"People can learn to make their own gin - that should be a lot of fun."
