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Above: Symbols of a Green and pleasant land. Right: The English Whisky Company distillery.
Scotland isn’t the only country in the UK producing top notch amber nectar – the English are hot on our tail
Written by Blair Bowman
Despite Scotland being the world’s biggest producer of whisky, we haven’t always had a monopoly on production of the amber nectar in the United Kingdom. Our Irish cousins are currently experiencing a resurgence in whiskey production but perhaps, more surprisingly, so are our English neighbours.
Historically there were whisky distilleries operating in London, Liverpool and Bristol before production stopped entirely in 1903 with the closure of the Lea Valley Distillery in Stratford in the East End of London.
This closure heralded a century devoid of whisky production across England’s green and pleasant land. It wasn’t until 2003 when a joint venture between St Austell Brewery and Healey’s Cyder Farm started producing their own Hicks & Healey Cornish Single Malt Whiskey. This joint venture between two Cornish businesses saw the rebirth of English whisky made by St Austell Brewery and Healey’s, a company more famous for cider production. Then in 2006 the St George’s Distillery in Norfolk established the English Whisky Company and English whisky was put fi rmly back on the map and things haven’t slowed down since.
By my count, which I will say is ever changing at the moment, there are currently thirty-four whisky distilleries in England at various stages of production, including a few which have whisky for sale and many more which are under construction or in planning phases. Sixteen of these have now released an inaugural fi rst release whisky, so there is enough out there to start exploring and many more to come.
Unfortunately, one of the new wave of English distilleries went into administration in January 2020. The London Distillery Company, founded in 2011, was the fi rst whisky distillery in London for over 100 years. Its brands were subsequently bought by the British Honey Company. However, this seems like a one-off rather than a warning of things to come, as the rest of the English whisky industry seems to be thriving and in a strong position
to experience continued growth.
Perhaps inspired by the Hicks & Healey joint venture, a few English whisky distilleries have decided to effectively ‘outsource’ the mashing stage of whisky production to a local brewery. It’s no surprise to anyone that England has a long and established history of producing excellent beers.
This would not be permitted in Scotland as the laws of Scotch whisky making specify that everything (except from the malting and maturation) must happen at a single distillery site in order to be designated as a single malt Scotch whisky.
This idea of outsourcing the wash to a brewery is also becoming popular among new world whiskies that are establishing themselves in areas that have a history of beer making or access to expert local brewers. It is a nice way to build collaborations between local businesses. It also (slightly) reduces the set-up costs of a new distillery as you wouldn’t require a mill or mash tun installed. This frees up space and allows the distillery to focus on the distillation process and maturation.
One distillery that uses this set up is the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery which I visited a few years ago. The founders had been running the award-winning Wold Top Brewery since 2003 before they decided to set up a distillery down the road from the brewery site. They grow 100% of their barley on their own farm and have a strong focus
Clockwise from top left: Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery’s Filey Bay; admiring the colour of a Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery whisky; The Lakes Distillery; The Oxford Artisan Distillery’s Oxford Rye Whisky; Nautilus, The Oxford Artisan Distillery’s still; The Lakes Distillery’s Dhavall Gandhi; English Whisky original and smokey whiskies; Andrew Nelstrop, Chairman of The English Whisky Company, in his distillery’s still room (credit: Anthony Kelly).
on a fi eld to bottle process. In 2016 they fi red up their Forsyth’s-made pot stills and were mentored by the late Dr Jim Swan. In 2019, they released their inaugural whisky and now have a range of core releases, including their Filey Bay Flagship Yorkshire Single Malt and small batch releases featuring interesting cask fi nishing programmes.
Some of the new wave of English whisky distilleries already seem to be gathering a bit of a cult following and appreciation. One example of this is Bimber Distillery in London. Interestingly, their distillery is less than fi ve minutes away from the Diageo HQ and The Whisky Exchange HQ in Park Royal. They are doing things a bit differently and really take care over the ‘craft’ of their whiskies. Using singlefarm English-grown barley, traditional fl oor malting, a whopping seven day fermentation using a specifi cally created yeast strain, direct fi red stills and an on-site cooperage, they are controlling each aspect of the process. Some bottles from a few of their single cask releases have now been trading for between £1,000-2,000, despite an original retail price of around £120. They are certainly one to watch.
English whisky distilleries don’t have such a long tradition, so are fl exing a lot more creative muscle when it comes to fl avour and production styles. This sometimes involves using innovative stills and less commonly used grains. One of the most interesting releases I’ve
tasted from an English distillery was the inaugural batch Oxford Rye Whisky from the Oxford Artisan Distillery. It had everything you could wish for in a rye whisky: dusty, fruity, spicy, with a delicious chewy mouthfeel. They have also started doing some interesting Heritage Corn whisky which is worth a try if you get the opportunity to taste it. It’s incredibly exciting to see distillers experimenting with ancient grains and producing some fantastic quality whiskies as a result.
The Lakes Distillery have also consistently been releasing incredibly high quality, fl avour-forward whiskies. It’s been a pleasure to follow their journey from a distance and taste the progression of their whiskies as their expert master blender really starts to show off their creativity and innovative whiskies. I’ve been particularly impressed by the whiskies released from Lakes under the watchful eye of Dhavall Gandhi. He is one of these whisky makers who you can tell is completely in their element and really understands the art of whisky making and blending. Absolutely one to keep an eye on.
Finally, another distillery project whose development I am very excited to follow is the Wiltshire Whisky Distillery Company. I was lucky to have a short Zoom call with the founders recently and they have some unique and exciting ideas that they are bringing to life.
The distillery hasn’t started construction yet, but I believe it will start soon. As well as a novel distillation process, they will be making their own single malt as well as single grain whisky, and as such will be able to create a single estate blended whisky which sounds like a very innovative idea.
So suffi ce to say, the reincarnation of England’s whisky scene is starting to heat up. It is now becoming much more widely distributed and easier to get a hold of. It is well worth seeking out if you’ve yet to raise a glass of English cheer.
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This independently owned bar, which is situated in the fabulous George Square in Glasgow has something on offer for everyone. You will not be disappointed with the legendary customer service, live music, amazing range of whisky and traditional Scottish food. The Scottish tapas has traditional favourites for you to try and they can be perfectly paired with a dram. With traditional surroundings the bar has a welcoming feel to it and offers a wide selection of beers, wines, rums, gins and much more. The range of Scotch malt whisky is outstanding. If you fancy something different then this is your place, it’s fi lled with experimental and traditional whisky. With scheduled and bespoke whisky tastings you’ll fi nd someone here to take you on a trip around the whisky regions of Scotland and more. We have gift vouchers and gifts available too. From all of us here at the Piper whisky bar, we wish you 011812 Cask & Still Half Page 2021 Range V3 Print.pdf 1 07/12/2021 15:49a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2022.
