Review | Filey Bay Porter Cask

This single malt whisky is the first special release of the year from the English distillery Spirit of Yorkshire. The Filey Bay Porter Cask is a small batch bottling and features spirit distilled in 2018. This spirit was filled to ex-bourbon casks that had previously held Rip Curl porter, a beer produced at the brand's sister brewery of Top Wold. The Rip Curl had been matured for 15 months in ex-Filey Bay cask. This beer, entitled Rip Curl Ebb & Flow 2023, is also available to purchase in limited quantities.

Review | Wire Works Virgin Oak

The Virgin Oak is a single malt whisky from the English distillery of White Peak. The Wire Works Virgin Oak is planned to become a core product in time, but his limited edition offers a preview. The whisky is in the distillery's signature lightly peated style and saw initial maturation in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels. The spirit was then finished for several months in virgin American oak barrels with differing toasting and charring levels, then married together. 

Review | Filey Bay IPA Finish Batch #2

Filey Bay IPA Finish Batch #2 is a small batch limited edition English single malt whisky from the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery. It has seen initial maturation in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in ex-beer barrels. These have previously help Scarborough Fair IPA from the Yorkshire brewery of Wold Top, which is has the same ownership as the distillery. In reverse, a special edition of the beer has been matured in the same casks once the whisky has been emptied.

Review / Wire Works Alter Ego

This new whisky is the latest limited edition single malt from the English distillery of White Peak.  The Wire Works Alter Ego uses the distillery's signature lightly peated single malt but with a twist. The release sees spirit used that has been distilled using alternate cut points on the still. This has resulted in different peat characteristics and caused fruitier elements to appear. This rare spirit has been matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled at 51.8% ABV. Wire Works Alter Ego is available from the distillery shop and via www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk. It will also be sold through selected specialist whisky retailers in the UK. A bottle will cost £65. 

Review / Bimber - The 1st Peated

This whisky is the inaugural bottling of peated single malt from the London-based distillery of Bimber. The 1st Peated is entirely composed of spirit from the distillery's first ever peated run, which took place in May 2019. Just four ex-bourbon barrels have been selected for The 1st Peated by founder and Master Distiller Dariusz Plazewski. The whisky has been recorded as having an 'in bottle' reading of 14.4PPM (Phenol Parts per Million). It has been released at 54.1% ABV and was available via ballot only on the Bimber website in November 2022. There were just 1,140 bottles with each costing £130. They are going for at least double this amount on current whisky auction sites.

Distillery Visit / Ad Gefrin

With Ad Gefrin, England has its newest single malt whisky distillery. It also has the country’s most northernly, sitting just a few miles from the Scottish border in the small town of Wooler in the far north of Northumberland. With its opening last month, Ad Gefrin brings the total number of distilleries making whisky in England to 40. Matt was invited for a visit.

________

Ad Gefrin is impressive. From the road it cuts an imposing figure with its glass-fronted still house showing passers-by that whisky is now being made there. The £16 million project was conceived and funded by the Ferguson family and is unlike any distillery that you will see. The family’s love of history and whisky has been combined in a unique way. But more on that later … 

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (April 21, 2023)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Review / Cotswolds 'Hearts & Crafts' Banyuls Cask

This whisky is the fourth edition in the limited edition Hearts & Crafts series from the English distillery of Cotswolds. The Cotswolds Hearts & Crafts Banyuls Cask has experienced a full maturation in a small batch of French oak casks that were previously filled with Banyuls, a regional sweet dessert wine from the south west of France. The series is inspired by the Art & Crafts movement championed by famous former Cotswolds resident William Morris. Morris-inspired designs are featured on a special packaging tube and neck tag. The Banyuls Cask follows three previous releases - the Sauternes Cask, Pineau des Charentes Cask and Rum Cask.

Review / Wire Works Caduro

 

This new whisky is the first permanent whisky to be released by the English distillery of White Peak. It follows a successful year-long series of award-winning small batch and single cask bottlings. Wire Works Caduro, named after a brand of cable made at the Johnson & Nephew factory that is now home to the distillery, has been matured in American and French oak casks. These are first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-red wine STRs (shaved, toasted and recharred), which were filled with lightly peated single malt. Despite only just being released Caduro has already claimed a Gold Medal at the IWSC (International Wine & Spirits Challenge) 2023. It was the only English single malt to achieve this.

Distillery Visit / White Peak

Nestled next to the bustling River Derwent in the heart of the English county of Derbyshire there is a quiet whisky revolution going on. This is where the White Peak distillery is located, close to the small town of Ambergate near Matlock. 

They have wasted no time in joining the English whisky elite and have already won several awards despite only releasing their first whisky just over a year ago. Matt took a trip to the Peak District to take a look for ourselves.

________

Several years ago, Max and Claire Vaughan had a dream. That dream was to open an English whisky distillery in their home county of Derbyshire. This became a reality in 2015 and White Peak was born. In doing so, it would become Derbyshire's first ever single malt and join the ever-expanding English whisky scene. 

Review / Gulliver's 47 PX Sherry Casks

This whisky is the latest limited edition bottling from the English single malt brand of Gulliver's. The Gulliver's 47 PX Sherry Casks is a whisky that was distilled for the brand at the St. George's distillery in Norfolk. It has had its full maturation in ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The brand aims to showcase the skills of artisan producers and is named after the adventures of Samuel Gulliver in 1747. He was an explorer who travelled the globe discovering new wines, spirits and liqueurs to bring back to the UK. His business was located in the town of Banbury. As a result, the brand carries the tagline of 'An Adventurous Spirit'. It is also the official whisky of the England Rugby Union team.

Review / The Lakes - The WhiskyMaker's Editions 'Infinity'

This single malt whisky is from the English distillery of The Lakes. It forms part of their revamped limited edition and small batch The WhiskyMaker's Editions range. This experimental set of whiskies was previously known as WhiskyMaker's Reserve. This Infinity bottling has seen their single malt matured across four different ex-sherry cask types - Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Palo Cortado. The four have then been combined in differing percentages to create Infinity. The WhiskyMaker's Editions - Infinity has been released at 52% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is available from seelcted specialist whisky retailers and should cost around £90.

Inbox / The Week's Whisky News (January 13, 2023)

Welcome to Inbox, our weekly round up of whisky news and PR material that has found its way in to our WFE email. It was created as we cannot write full articles or do justice to every piece received. It features items from around the world of whisky and is published by us each Friday. Within Inbox we aim to write a few lines detailing each press release/piece of news/PR event that we have received and provide links, where possible, for you to find out further information. 

Review / Wire Works Small Batch 2.0

The Wire Works Small Batch 2.0 is one of the latest single malt whisky releases from the English distillery of White Peak. This follows the first Small Batch release back in the Summer. The lightly peated spirit has been matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) casks. There will be just 4,251 bottles available - these can be purchased via the distillery shop, the White Peak website and several UK retailers. It will also be available in selected retailers in Germany and Italy for the first time ever. The Wire Works Small Batch 2.0 is bottled at 47.7% ABV and costs £60/ €75. 

Review / Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish

This new whisky is the latest limited edition release from the English single malt whisky brand of Wire Works. The Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish is just the fifth release from the Derbyshire-based White Peak distillery. The whisky has seen the distillery's lightly peated spirit initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels. This has then been finished for a short period in ex-beer casks. These had previously held Necessary Evil imperial stout brewed by the neighbouring Thornbridge Brewery. It is bottled at 51.3% ABV and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. There are just 2,059 individually numbered bottles.

Review / Cotswolds 'Hearts & Crafts' Rum Cask

This new whisky is the latest addition to the Hearts & Crafts Collection from the English distillery of Cotswolds. The series of limited edition whiskies is inspired by the work of designer and craftsman William Morris, who lived in the Cotswolds at Kelmscott Manor. The new release has seen the spirit made from 100% Cotswolds barley, which was traditionally floor malted in nearby Warminster, and then matured in rejuvenated French oak ex-red wine casks that were seasoned with Caribbean rum. All bottles are presented in a William Morris design tube. The exact number of bottles was not revealed in the press release.

Review / Cotswolds Madeira Single Cask

This whisky is the latest limited edition from the English distillery of Cotswolds. The Cotswolds Madeira Single Cask is a single malt that represents the inaugural release into their new Single Cask Series that is planned for 2022. The whisky was made using locally grown and malted barley. It was filled to a single French oak cask (Cask #621) that had previously held Madeira, a fortified wine from the Portuguese island, in April 2016. It was bottled in February 2022 at the natural cask strength of 59.5% ABV, and is both non chill-filtered and of natural colour. The Cotswold Madeira Single Cask is a distillery exclusive - it is only available from the distillery shop or Cotswolds website. A bottle will cost £95.

Review / The Oxford Artisan Distillery 'Red Red Rye'

This new whisky is the fifth release of rye spirit produced at The Oxford Artisan Distilley (or TOAD for short) - the English distillery that has celebrated its fourth anniversary this year. The spirit was made using heritage varieties of grain that were harvested in Autumn 2017 from fields just seven miles from the distillery. The composition of the mash was 90% maslin (a blend of 70% rye and 20% wheat that were grown in the same field) and 10% malted barley. 

The whisky has undergone a journey through three different cask types. It began in two American oak ex-bourbon barrels, which were then combined into one ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry butt. This was then finally split between two vintage Port barriques for its final maturation. The Red Red Rye follows the first four batches that have been released over the last year or so. 

Review / Cotswolds Bourbon Cask

This whisky is the latest addition to the Cask Collection series from Cotswolds, the award-winning English distillery. The Cotswolds Bourbon Cask has been created using 100% Cotswolds barley with the spirit then undergoing full maturation in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels made from American white oak. It joins the Founder's Choice, Peated Cask and Sherry Cask in the collection. The Cotswolds Bourbon Cask is bottled at 59.1% ABV and both is non chill-filtered and of natural colour. It is exclusively available via www.cotswoldsdistillery.com and their three retail shops. These are located at the distillery in Stourton and in the towns of Broadway and Bourton-on-the-Water. The price is £64.95. 

Review / The Oxford Artisan Distillery 'Oxford Rye' Batch #3

This new whisky is the third release of the rye spirit produced at The Oxford Artisan Distilley (or TOAD for short). The English distillery has bottled this to celebrate its fourth anniversary. The spirit was made using heritage varieties of grain that were harvested in Autumn 2017.  The composition of the mash was 90% maslin (a blend of 70% rye and 20% wheat that were grown in the same field) and 10% malted barley. The spirit was then matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for 17 months, before being transferred to ex-Moscatel wine barrels sourced from Portugal. The Oxford Rye Batch #3 follows the first two batches that were released earlier this year in April and July respectively.