English Whisky: an emerging category and one to watch!
By 2022, whisky is predicted to be a £2.4 billion market in the UK. As Ryebeck previously reported, there are a number of new trends. These include the way whisky is produced, sold and used in cocktails, as well as where it’s made. A modern generation of whisky drinkers is emerging. So, anyone structuring a whisky list should take account of these developments.
About ten years ago, Scotland, Ireland and the USA dominated whisky production. Now it’s made all over the world. Japanese whisky is a huge success story, winning regular prizes in international competitions. So, where’s the next challenge to the traditional dominance of Single Malt Scotch coming from? Could it be somewhere much closer to home?
Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show
At last year’s Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show, Chris Bolton of The Whisky Exchange, spoke about the rise of English whisky. Demonstrating three very different styles, he gave us a welcome taste of developments in this young industry. “In many ways“, says Chris, “we have the Japanese to thank for the concept of new world whisky. It’s a booming industry and a very exciting time.”
Ability to innovate
Scotch is heavily regulated. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is responsible for lobbying the EU and protecting the terminology “Scotch Whisky”. It has to be distilled, aged and bottled in Scotland with strict rules on production giving protection against counterfeit versions. In contrast, the much younger English whisky movement “can go offbeat, innovate, try new things and experiment“, explains Chris.
Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery
Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery is one of the newest distilleries in the UK. It was founded by two farmers who owned the Wold Top Brewery in Yorkshire. Being brewers and farmers, they are able to control the entire process of whisky production from field to bottle. So, they use barley grown on their family farm in Hunmanby to first produce a beer. Then they transport it down the road to the distillery.
The company started to make whisky in 2016 and Filey Bay Single Malt Whiskey is the first release. It’s 46% ABV, so stronger than a standard whisky. As a result, there’s good depth and flavour with citrus notes, a touch of vanilla and light caramel. This is a fresh, vibrant whisky with plenty of character. It would be ideal as an apéritif, perhaps in a highball.
Bimber Distillery
Dariusz Plazewski, a third-generation distiller from Poland, founded West London’s Bimber Distillery in Europe’s largest industrial estate. Bimber means moonshine and Dariusz is passionate about the ‘craft’ movement. He sources barley from a farm in Hampshire and uses traditional methods of whisky making, such as floor-malted barley.
The distillery is one of the only ones in the UK to have direct-firing stills, rather than steam-coil heated stills. They also have their own on-site cooperage. This gives them full control over the type, specification and quality of barrels.
Chris is full of praise for Bimber’s traditional methods. “Nowadays, with the growing pressure and the corporate world of the whisky industry, profits and yield take precedence over that hand touch and influence on whisky making. So, it’s really refreshing to see a distillery going back to a traditional way of making whisky.”
Bimber Distillery ages the Single Malt London Whisky in re-charred oak casks. This gives it a darker colour and richer, toasty vanilla character with a touch of sweetness. The whisky would be great, paired at the end of a meal, with some dark chocolate or even a chocolate-based dessert.
The English Whisky Company
The English Whisky Company, based in Norfolk, was the first English whisky distillery for over 120 years when it launched in 2006. As Chris describes, “this was a landmark moment for whisky making.”
Towards the end of the 19th century, only about four distilleries existed in England. In the early 2000s, whisky started to become more fashionable again. So, the time was right for Lincolnshire farmer and businessman, James Nelstrop and his son Andrew to follow their passion. Using locally-sourced Norfolk barley and fresh water from the Brecklands Aquifer, which runs beneath the distillery, they created an artisan company that’s sparked the rebirth of a little-known spirit category. “The English Whisky Company has been banging the drum for English whisky as a category for a long time now“, says Chris.
The English Smokey is an unmistakeably peated whisky. It has a bonfire smoke character bolstered by spice, vanilla and a very long finish. This is another great example of a whisky to sip at the end of a meal.
The future
English whisky is on the rise. The number of distilleries may still be small at around 24, but it’s growing. Award-winning companies, such as The Lakes Distillery and Cotswolds Distillery, are gaining many new fans. Other craft gin distilleries are now making different spirits too. So, we can expect to see more English whisky coming on to the market in the near future.
If you’re interested in purchasing distillation equipment to make whisky or any other spirit, then give Ryebeck a call. You can reach the team on +44 (0) 800 689 3216 or contact them via their online form.
This is the second of two articles reporting on last year’s Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show. You can find the first on ‘Low and No’ trends here.
Author: Robin Goldsmith of The Write Taste.
