Sarah Miller looks at the rapidly developing English whisky industry and the innovations behind it...

The story of the British gin boom following the opening of London’s Sipsmith distillery in 2009 has been well documented. But one element was long overlooked: while gin was stealing the spotlight, many of England’s ambitious new distilleries were also secretly squirrelling away casks of new make spirit in the hope that future consumers would embrace a category that as yet barely existed.

Whereas gin’s speed of production – and popularity – offered a rapid return on investment, English whisky was a high-risk leap into the unknown. Would there be demand for English whisky when the mandatory three-year ageing process elapsed?

If there was, would it match expectations in a category dominated by traditional whisk(e)y- producing countries such as Scotland, Ireland, and the US? And what risks might each business encounter along the way, long before their whisky was even bottled?

No wonder the mere notion was usually met with raised eyebrows – if not a hearty laugh – as recently as 10 years ago, despite whisky pioneers The English Distillery (formerly St George’s) opening its Norfolk doors in 2006.

When I visited two of the earlier movers in 2016, Bimber Distillery and East London Liquor Company, Brexit was still at the referendum stage and the impending catastrophes of COVID, the war on Ukraine and the cost of living crisis were still several years in the future. As indeed, was the recent arrest of Bimber’s founder Dariusz Plazewski (aka Lucasz Ratajewski), on a conspiracy to murder charge, which sent shockwaves through the industry.

Despite countless challenges, English whisky is now coming of age with approximately 50 distilleries spread across the length and breadth of the country (about half of which have mature whisky) – and yet the question remains: what is it?

Although the British Standards Institution launched national production guidelines for UK whisky in late 2023, the English Whisky Guild is still awaiting the outcome of its 2022 Geographical Indication (GI) application, which seeks to legally define and protect the category as well as differentiate it from traditional whiskies.

Far from trying to replicate Scotch, the young and creative English whisky industry is embracing innovation in the pursuit of unique flavours as well as exceptional quality. Unlike other new whisky-producing regions such as Israel, India, and Taiwan, the English climate offers little differentiation from the conditions encountered in Scotland.

Instead, distilleries are experimenting with different grains, yeast strains and fermentation periods to give their products a point of difference. The proposed GI also allows for variation in the type of still used to produce new make spirit, and maturation in casks of varying sizes made from any type of wood (unlike Scotch, which must be aged in oak).

Many English distilleries are also engaging with the environmental impact of whisky production. Since 2017, The Oxford Artisan Distillery has produced all its spirits using only locally grown heritage grains, which also maximise biodiversity and minimise the use of fossil fuels.

Cooper King’s inaugural whisky, ‘First Edition: Fruit + Spice’, released in late 2023, was the first whisky in England to be distilled using net zero energy. Achieved as a result of six years’ dedication to sustainability – including powering the distillery with 100% renewable energy and using NASA insulating paint on their still – First Edition sold out within an astonishing 10 minutes!

November 2023 also saw The English Distillery release the oldest English whisky yet, their award winning 16 Year Old Port Cask, and with 50,000 casks predicted to be laid down by English distillers by the end of 2024, there is a lot more to look forward to.

Combine that with a younger, more adventurous generation of drinkers, drawn not only by a new category but also by the innovative ways distilleries are approaching whisky-making, then the future of English whisky looks sure to be a long one.

Sarah Miller is a UK-based spirits writer, judge and consultant.
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