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The new wave of English whisky is now more than 20 years old. The first spirit may have rolled off the stills of Hicks and Healey in 2003, but the past two decades have seen many changes, with more than 60 distilleries springing up from Cornwall to Cumbria. Here are a few of our favourites.
White Peak Wire Works
Hidden in an old wire factory in Derbyshire, White Peak distillery has been making exciting whiskies since 2016. With a little peated malt added to every mash, as well as some brewers' yeast from nearby Thornbridge Brewery, the result is a softly smoky malt whisky with lots of body and character. Add to that a team that loves experimenting, and you have a great place to start exploring English whisky.
White Peak Caduro
Out Of Stock
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The distillery’s core release is Caduro, named after the brand of wire that was once made in their former-factory home. It’s a fruity and fudgy whisky, created using spirit matured in first-fill ex-bourbon and STR casks – the core of the distillery’s character.
Spirit of Yorkshire Filey Bay
This distillery does what it says on the tin – it’s all about making great spirit in Yorkshire. Using barley grown in the fields surrounding Wold Top brewery, where the team does the first steps of whisky making, they then distil by the sea in nearby Filey. The Filey Bay range of whiskies is classic single malt with a fruity core, and the team’s use of interesting casks – including beer barrels – has created a wide range of releases.
Filey Bay Flagship
£53.75
(£76.79 per litre)
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Spirit of Yorkshire’s literal flagship whisky is Filey Bay Flagship, a creamy and fruity dram that shows off the distillery’s style. It is matured solely in ex-bourbon casks, giving the fruity spirit lots of space to shine.
The English Distillery
While The English Distillery wasn’t the first to make English whisky this century, it was the distillery that led the revival and rise of English whisky. Established in 2006 in Norfolk by a farming family and surrounded by fields of barley, it has spent the past two decades championing and helping to define English whisky as we know it today.
The English Distillery Original Single Malt Whisky
£49.95
(£71.36 per litre)
You must be aged 18 or above to buy alcohol in the UK
This is the whisky that the distillery has been working towards since its founding – tropical fruit and vanilla up front and nuts and chocolate through the palate, with ex-bourbon casks adding a touch of spice. The gold standard for English single malt whisky..
East London Liquor Co
This is the smallest producer in this list and the most experimental, having used numerous types of cask, grain and yeast since its founding in 2014. ELLC also has gin, rum and vodka in its range, but it's the whisky that we like the most, with a core range featuring not only single malt, but also a London rye. Keep an eye out for small batch releases – there are a lot of weird and wonderful casks hiding in the warehouses of East London...
East London Liquor Co London Rye Whisky
£61.50
(£87.86 per litre)
You must be aged 18 or above to buy alcohol in the UK
London’s first rye whisky to hit the market and the spirit that put ELLC on the map. Big, rich and spicy with chocolate, stacks of grain and even complex herbal notes. A bottle that exemplifies the diversity of English whisky.
The Future of English Whisky
With more than 60 distilleries now open and maturing spirit, English whisky has an exciting future. However, it is also at an important stage of development, with distillers across the country trying to decide what English whisky actually is, and working together to create standards and take things to the next level.
To find out more about where English whisky has come from and where it’s going, check out our guide.