Greatest English whiskies at a look
- Greatest sherry-cask whisky: The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 7, £82.95
- Greatest small-batch whisky: Wharf Distillery Equinox, £85
- Greatest Yorkshire whisky: Filey Bay IPA End Batch #2, £51.94
- Greatest rye whisky: Oxford Rye The Dissertation, £97.50
- Greatest for after a chilly night time: Cotswolds Single Malt Peated Cask, £75
- Greatest English peat whisky: Wire Works Caduro, £60
- Greatest ex-Bourbon cask whisky: Bimber Ex-Bourbon Oak Casks Batch No. 4, £68.95
- Greatest for late evenings: The English Sherry Cask, £64.99
- Greatest artisan mix: Forest Whisky Mix Quantity 26, £59.50
- Greatest bang for buck: The Cheshire Single Malt Second Launch, £52.95
- Greatest fashionable whisky expression: London Rye Whisky, £44.95
- Greatest for clear, zingy cocktails: Masthouse Column Malt Whisky, £30.67
Greatest English whiskies to purchase in 2024
The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 7 (52% ABV)
Obtainable from The Whisky Trade (£82.95)
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Greatest sherry-cask whisky
Star ranking: 5/5
The Lakes Distillery proudly wears course of on its sleeve. Based mostly by the northern reaches of Bassenthwaite Lake within the Lake District, The Lakes is an in-depth and ongoing exploration of expression, creativity and even play in whisky manufacturing. The Whiskymaker’s Reserve sequence is The Lakes’ forward-facing exploration of sherry cask maturation and mixing, a really public journey in direction of a signature type in a comparatively younger artform; that is No. 7, the ultimate bottle within the sequence.
The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 7 cuts a luscious kind in-glass, with a deep hue stolen from the stained wooden of the sherry casks; the color betrays the refined sweetness discovered on the nostril, backed by booze-soaked berry fruits and demerara sugar. Three cask sorts are used within the maturation course of: Pedro Ximenez, oloroso and pink wine. The PX casks are undoubtedly the perpetrator for these fruity notes, with oloroso offering tight, boozy brightness and pink wine lending stiff cocoa notes. Sitting with the No. 7 reveals extra chocolate notes, and developed sweetness that makes this a moreish dram.
Obtainable from:
The Whisky Trade (£82.95)
Wharf Distillery Equinox (43.4% ABV)
Obtainable from Digital Distiller (£84.99), Wharf Distillery (£85),
Greatest small-batch whisky
Star ranking: 5/5
The Wharf Distillery is among the smallest in our round-up, producing uncommon and small runs of their very own expressions on a biannual foundation, named for the time of 12 months bottling tends to happen. That is Equinox, an ex-port-cask-matured affair, and a flavour bomb besides. The ex-port cask was resized by Speyside Cooperage to extend its capability – and, crucially, its floor space, giving the brand new make extra alternative to interact with the wealthy infused-wood flavours.
The result’s a 3.5-year-old whisky that tastes effectively above its age. That is telegraphed instantly within the wealthy color, which catches the attention for a near-imperceptible sanguine tint – then once more on the nostril, which brings massive, fortified notes of raisins, brown sugar and darkish wooden. The physique is initially refined and chocolatey, taking time to unfurl earlier than widening out to notes of cherries, hazelnut, milk chocolate and brandy. The end is all espresso and butterscotch, carried by a wine-like vapour that retains it from dryness. This expression is proof constructive that a few of English whisky’s extra thrilling work is going on behind small doorways.
Obtainable from:
Filey Bay IPA End Batch #2 (46% ABV)
Obtainable from Grasp of Malt (£51.94), The Whisky Trade (£59.95), Laborious to Discover Whisky (£64.95)
Greatest Yorkshire whisky
Star ranking: 4.5/5
Filey Bay whisky hails from the aptly named Spirit of Yorkshire distillery, nestled within the coastal North Yorkshire village of Hunmanby. The distillery is each a family-run enterprise and a part of a family-business ecosystem – its mother or father being the household farm from which all its barley malt is sourced, and its older sister being acclaimed unbiased brewery Wold Prime.
The Filey Bay IPA End is a ravishing demonstration of this ecosystem in motion. All Filey Bay whiskies are ‘field-to-glass’ for the native and in-house sourcing of their water and barley. The IPA End is of the identical inventory as their flagship single malt, however advantages from the Wold Prime Scarborough Truthful casks by which it in the end dwells. The outcome is an outstanding melding of flavour profiles: baked-pear sweetness and oak on the nostril, biscuity malt and rhubarb-custard on the palate, and a daring, shiny vanilla end. That is severely approachable, and comes with a flavour lineage that anybody can observe.
Obtainable from:
Oxford Rye The Dissertation (47.3% ABV)
Obtainable from The Oxford Artisan Distillery (£97.50)
Greatest rye whisky
Star ranking: 4.5/5
Whereas many variables affect the making of a great whisky, it stays true that there are solely three core components you may experiment with. The Oxford Artisan Distillery is carving out an unassailable area of interest for itself by way of its engagement with one ingredient: grain. The grains utilized in Oxford whiskies are historic heritage grains, found and re-engineered by farming accomplice John Letts with biodiversity, regeneration and sustainability in thoughts.
The Dissertation is Oxford’s twelfth batch of rye whisky, and successfully a mix of two rye expressions: one a full-rye, ramandolo-cask-aged endeavour, the opposite rye-heavy and aged in American oak. The previous lends a spring-season floral scent to the nostril, with sweet-wine brightness and a tighter lemon-pepper chunk from the rye. The latter supplies great physique on the palate, with a woody pastry hit that mellows out to vanilla beneath zingy citrus shavings and cracked black pepper. There’s a welcome contact of fireplace to the Dissertation, and additional forays reveal the distinctive caramel nature of those idiosyncratic grains.
Obtainable from:
The Oxford Artisan Distillery (£97.50)
Cotswolds Single Malt Peated Cask (59.6% ABV)
Obtainable from Spirits Kiosk (£57.95), Amazon (£60), Grasp of Malt (£62.95), The Cotswolds Distillery (£75)
Greatest for after a chilly night time
Star ranking: 4.5/5
Three guesses the place the Cotswold Distillery’s whiskies are distilled. The winner will get to style a shiny and remarkably characterful whisky from probably the most excellent Space of Excellent Pure Magnificence within the south. The Cotswolds Distillery is a definition of what makes English whisky particular, with its distinctive and private synthesis of custom and modernity – this bottle, the Single Malt Peated Cask, being a main instance.
The Peated Cask is a robust entry within the distillery’s Cask Expressions Assortment, having been matured absolutely in ex-peated quarter casks, and bottled at cask energy. The place peat whiskies are so as a result of therapy of the malt, this one inherits its smokiness from the cask as an alternative – a easy however efficient twist, which brings a very completely different flavour profile to the bottle. Inexperienced fruit takes priority over smoked heather on the nostril, and a touch of lately burned firewood could be discovered on the again; the flavour begins inexperienced, and ages by way of sun-dried raisins and kindling into fired crème brûlée over time.
Obtainable from:
Wire Works Caduro (46.8% ABV)
Obtainable from Grasp of Malt (£59.45), The Wee Dram (£60)
Greatest English peat whisky
Star ranking: 4.5/5
Wire Works is the whisky produce of White Peak Distillery, a Derbyshire outfit located simply north of the assembly level of rivers Derwent and Amber. The whisky takes its identify from the previous objective of the commercial facility which White Peak inherited; it additionally advantages from some repurposed wire-manufacturing infrastructure, particularly the previous cooling system which pulls water from the Derwent itself.
The Wire Works Caduro is totally a product of industriousness itself, being a peated single malt matured in a mix of ex-bourbon casks and White Peak’s personal ‘STR’ (shaved, toasted and re-charred – a pioneering course of utilized by quite a few distilleries to deliver older, storied barrels again to new and thrilling life) wine barriques. The bourbon vanilla-oak is pleasingly current on the nostril, alongside grape pores and skin and a touch of singed heather; the palate is far peatier, with sturdy, smoky heat carrying right through. Honey and spice give approach to peppery tannins, and a semi-sweet end units you up for the following dram.
Obtainable from:
Bimber Ex-Bourbon Oak Casks Batch No. 4 (51.2% ABV)
Obtainable from Royal Mile Whiskies (£68.95)
Greatest ex-Bourbon cask whisky
Star ranking: 4.5/5
The Bimber Distillery in West London takes its identify taken from the Polish phrase for ‘moonshine’ – although this can be a barely self-deprecating method to what’s demonstrably a top quality product. Bimber’s whiskies are the product of slavish adherence to custom and transparency, with a single Hampshire farm offering the barley for each expression, and their very own cooperage offering the oak washbacks by which ensuing malts are fermented.
That is Batch No. 4 of Bimber’s Ex-Bourbon Oak single malt. The oak in query takes the type of first-fill American Oak bourbon casks, the oldest in Bimber’s shops – and which impart extremely dense caramel on the nostril. The caramel shrouds the whisky’s fruitier notes, and sits behind contemporary honeysuckle. The preliminary hit on the tongue is wealthy and candy, caramel apples and cinder toffee with hints of candy smoke; the palate finally finds contemporary fruit too, from kiwi and kumquat to candied orange peel.
Obtainable from:
Royal Mile Whiskies (£68.95)
The English Sherry Cask (46% ABV)
Obtainable from The Spirit Specialist (£64.99), Laborious to Discover Whisky (£66.95)
Greatest for late evenings
Star ranking: 4.5/5
The English Distillery holds some main historic import for English whisky, being the primary registered English whisky distillery in over a century. Since its first bottle in 2009, The English Distillery has not rested on these laurels, as an alternative always iterating to chart its path over new floor. The result’s a stacked roster of expressions, from Virgin Oak to Double Cask and past – amongst which you’ll discover the Sherry Cask Matured, a brand new core whisky which lately received the daunting title of World’s Greatest Single Malt Whisky on the World Whiskies Awards.
The nostril is headily candy and tart, reflecting aged fruit loaf and strong marzipan – a liquid lebkuchen within the making. The whisky is, at first, surprisingly slick. A buttery mouthfeel transfers early notes of cacao-nibs and fig; over time, warming embers permeate the mouth, clearing the palate and leaving area for a candy, fresh-fruit end.
Obtainable from:
Forest Whisky Mix Quantity 26 (47% ABV)
Obtainable from Forest Distillery (£59.50), Harvey Nichols (£65)
Greatest artisan mix
Star ranking: 4/5
Forest Whisky hails from the verdant locales of Macclesfield Forest in rural Cheshire; the distillery was based by husband-and-wife group Lindsay and Karl Bond in 2014, and started within the Bonds’ kitchen, the place they distilled gin utilizing botanicals picked domestically by their daughter. Right now, they’re ensconced within the cellars of the Cat & Fiddle, a Macclesfield pub they crowdfunded to avoid wasting from dereliction (and which presently holds the area of interest title of highest-altitude distillery in Britain).
That is their Forest Whisky Mix Quantity 26, which prominently options the small-batch produce of their Macclesfield pub cellar – wild-yeast-fermented, and blended with chosen whiskies and rested collectively on new oak. The nostril is shiny, buttery and lemony, evoking burnt-sugar pastry; the palate is gentle, and wealthy in nut-buttery sweetness. There’s a green-wood character that emerges because the flavour develops, and a lovely smoky tinge to the end (augmented by hints of lemon-nettle and mint). Extremely drinkable, and fittingly influenced by foraged flavours.
Obtainable from:
The Cheshire Single Malt Second Launch (46% ABV)
Obtainable from Grasp of Malt (£52.90), The Whisky Trade (£52.95), Laborious to Discover Whisky (£52.95)
Greatest bang for buck
Star ranking: 4/5
Right here, one other Cheshire-born distilling enterprise within the type of Weetwood Brewery and Distillery. Weetwood started brewing beer within the early Nineteen Nineties, and launched whisky-making to its repertoire some 26 years later. The result’s The Cheshire, a younger however sturdy strand of whisky expressions, unfurling new understandings in regards to the whisky-making course of with every bottling.
That is the Second Launch, a whisky which advantages from a dual-cask maturing course of; the brand new make spirit is matured in STR American oak casks and completed in European oak barrels (implying ex-sherry). There’s a velvety nostril to it, stippled with butterscotch and apricot. There’s additionally a floral freshness right here, making for a shiny general really feel. The palate is, in distinction, spicy; a robust preliminary kick dissolves into candy oak, baked apples and dates. The end mirrors the nostril, with an oaky sweetness and a rounded, complicated baked-fruit end.
Obtainable from:
London Rye Whisky (47% ABV)
Obtainable from Grasp of Malt (£44.95), Amathus Drinks (£58.90)
Greatest fashionable whisky expression
Star ranking: 4/5
‘Booze with bottle’ – so says The East London Liquor Firm of their broad roster of uncompromising drinks. Simply as their irreverent branding options letters pinched from native graffiti, so too is their whisky infused with a uniquely brash E-postcode philosophy. Conventional strategies meet fashionable sensibilities and homosexual abandon, as thrillingly exemplified by the London Rye Whisky.
The Spring ’23 batch comes helpfully emblazoned with a pie-chart denoting its cask composition. An intriguing addition here’s a saison cask from London craft brewery Brew By Numbers – the potential supply for a daring hit of yogurt-like funk atop the Rye’s nostril. Elsewhere within the nostril there are hints of toffee and tequila, and a contemporary nuttiness to bind it collectively. The flavour develops from a candy, woody first impression to spicy darkish chocolate and again down once more. The end is surprisingly lengthy and complicated, folding bitter charred cask parts into contemporary oak and wild yeast.
Obtainable from:
Masthouse Column Malt Whisky (46% ABV)
Obtainable from Grasp of Malt (£30.67), The Whisky Trade (£39.95), Laborious to Discover Whisky (£41.95)
Greatest for clear, zingy cocktails
Star ranking: 3.5/5
Masthouse whisky is so named for the dockyard surrounds of its Kent distillery Copper Rivet – one in every of few larger-scale distilleries within the UK (together with Spirit of Yorkshire) that prides itself on field-to-glass manufacturing. The Masthouse whiskies bear the title ‘single property’, right here referencing the distillery’s shut work with native Kent farmers. One of many fruits of this collaboration is the Column Malt Whisky – a shiny, clear and considerably brash distillate, taking cues from the continual distillation processes of American and Japanese enterprises alike.
Column stills are broadly thought of to supply lighter, subtler whiskies than pot stills, and the Column Malt displays this lightness – notably in its straw-bright pure color – however is not any much less filled with flavour for it. Fairly, boozy agave notes on the nostril translate to creamy-sweet flavour and a zesty, effervescent end. This can be a clear, distinct and simply legible flavour profile, which displays the readability of Copper Rivet’s transparently native operation.
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This assessment was final up to date in Might 2024. When you’ve got any questions, strategies for future opinions or spot something that has modified in value or availability please get in contact at goodfoodwebsite@fast.co.uk.
