Expectations can be a fickle thing. Of course, it’s always nice to have them exceeded. Failing to have them met often leaves a permanently sour taste in the mouth though. Given the non-stop bombardment of available information in the 21st century, it is often hard to avoid preconceptions of a brand or bottle. The task is even harder in the case of new distilleries, who must shout loudly to inform us of their USPs and exclusive clubs, all with the aim of surviving long enough to simply release something that can bear the word ‘whisky’.
It was a little surprising then to find myself at the relatively young Spirit of Yorkshire distillery in Hunmanby without any idea of what to expect once the threshold was crossed. All I knew was that a release of maturing malt was imminent and this seemed as good a reason as any to check out how it was made. Through the course of my visit, I was shown how this distillery is confounding expectations across the board.
Starting at the beginning, the Spirit of Yorkshire has an unusual set-up for dealing with the barley it uses. Wold Top brewery is the sister company of the distillery and has been dealing with barley for years. Co-founder Tom Mellor grows the Concerto barley and as such, there is already a 100% Yorkshire provenance for the maturing spirit. Malting takes place in Bridlington (less than 10 miles away) before the malt is returned to the Wold Top brewery for mashing in a one tonne mash tun.
The wort is then brought to the distillery by tanker for fermentation (this trait is shared with Penderyn distillery). Particular attention has been paid this part of the process, with two yeast strains used, each added at different times in the 75-95 hour process.
From the stainless steel washbacks, the wash is sent to the 5,000 litre wash still for a fairly standard first distillation. The spirit still and the second distillation is where things get interesting. As well as a standard descending lyne arm and shell and tube condenser, the distiller has the option of sending the distillate through a four plate column “condenser”, with the spirit then running back into the pot still. The consequence of this is a huge amount of reflux and copper contact for the spirit, as well as the abv rising up to above 80%, compared to the mid-70s when run through the more traditional condenser. At the moment, production is split between 6 months using the shell and tube condenser and 6 months with the column condenser.
The cut for the heart of the spirit is decided by careful nosing, there are no computers here meaning the distillers are kept on their toes. The spirit averages out at about 75%, before being put into casks at 63.5% abv. Currently, 80,000 litres of alcohol are produced per year, but the capacity is around 450,000 litres, so there is plenty of room for expansion.
The spirit is filled into plenty of different casks. Primarily Old Forester bourbon casks, but there is also sherry with oloroso, Pedro Ximénez and fino, as well the Dr Jim Swan calling card of Shaved Toasted and Roasted red wine casks. It was mentioned during the tour that the STR process has also been used for casks that previously held sherry too. The most unusual cask being used is one that previously held an oloroso type sherry that was infused with fresh oranges. Another unique move from this surprising distillery.
There was also talk of potentially using Yorkshire oak for future maturation, but at the moment the focus is on bottling the ‘maturing malt’, which is being carried out on site.
Speaking of the incoming release, having completed the tour it was time to taste back in the shop. I was able to try a range of single cask samples including:
Orange-infused oloroso sherry cask matured – typically sherried but with a delicate potpourri perfume present in the finish.
200 litre bourbon barrel matured – a classic style, with a good balance of cask and distillate influence. As a sign of things to come, this is well judged.
20 litre bourbon cask matured – an extremely intense experience. The cask has manhandled the spirit and this is more bourbon than single malt. The flat cap has been swapped for a cowboy hat.
Maturing Malt. A mix of five casks including the orange-infused oloroso, traditional sherry and bourbon – A whole lot to take in for spirit that is just over a year old. At first it’s quite heavy and surprisingly rich, but time allows more delicate flavours to come through.
The Maturing Malt is quite cask driven and with such a mix, the distillery character is perhaps masked a little. There really is a lot of flavour to investigate though, which is way I haven’t written a full review, as I only tried a small sample at the end of the tour. A full review will follow when I get a bit more time with a bottle, due to be collected later in December.
Even after having visited the distillery and been shown how they do things, I still don’t know what to expect next from the Spirit of Yorkshire. It’s exciting to see a new distillery look at the established rules and conventions and say, “Nah, we’ll try something else”, whilst still taking on advice to ensure that the product will be of a high quality. There is potential for innovation and individualism throughout the process, from the control of Yorkshire barley, experimentation with yeast strains, the unique distillation process (is it even still just double distillation with column condenser?) to the array of casks being used.
Yorkshire’s first single malt will be worth your attention. There was so much passion on display during my visit, for the distillation process, the ingredients and the area. The only problem now is that I’ve got expectations, and they’re quite high.
Peak Whisky 