The Dram Barron

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On Thursday (15th June) myself and some friends took a trip to Hunmanby to visit the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery.

First we started at Wold Top Brewery where we saw the farm owned by the Brewery and Distillery where they source their Barley. The land stretched as far as the eye could see (that’s a lot of land), it was incredible how much they owned.

The Barley was flourishing in the dry earth that takes nutrients from vegetables that grow below the earth and are left to decompose and feed the soil in order to reduce how much fertiliser is needed.

Next we went into the Brewery where they not only create Wold Top ales but they also create the wash for Filey Bay whisky.

Next we visited the distillery for a tour and explanation of how they produce Filey Bay whisky, the unique part for this distillery is the copper column you can see with the four port holes. This contains copper rings that take away some of the flavours they don’t want in the liquid and leave behind the fruity, sweet flavours.

Finally we had a tasting which involved:

• Flagship
• Moscatel Finish
• STR Finish
• Double Oak
• Unreleased Peated

The treat here was the new peated batch yet to be released. This contains no peated barley, instead the normal flagship is finished in casks that previously held a well known brand’s peated whisky. The result is a peaty whisky full of complexity bringing sandy dunes with stone fruits and green apples. The balance is brilliant as the smoky flavours are strong but don’t mask the distillery flavours, certainly one to keep an eye out for later this month.

Sláinte!