Yorkshire malt whisky distillery and sister brewery release eagerly awaited special bottlings

Distillers at Yorkshire's first single malt whisky distillery have revealed details of their first Special Release of 2024.

Hunmanby-based Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery's latest limited edition bottling is Filey Bay Porter Cask Special Release, 50% abv, a fruity and complex whisky with flavours of orange chocolate, roasted malt, baked apples and candied fruits. 

The ex-PX Sherry and ex-Bourbon casks selected for Filey Bay Porter Cask were originally filled in 2017. Disgorged years later, the whisky from the ex-PX casks formed Sherry Cask Reserve #2 while the whisky from the ex-Bourbon casks was integrated into the Flagship system. From here, the casks were refilled with sister company Wold Top Brewery's ‘Marmalade Porter.' After 15 months the casks were disgorged to create Rip Curl barrel-aged beer and refilled with ex-Bourbon matured whisky from 2018. Filey Bay Porter Cask Special Release is the result of careful marrying of these casks.

"We have many special cask types in our warehouse, but few as special as these that reflect our expertise as farmers, brewers and distillers. You'll find complex flavours in both the whisky and the beer as the rich chocolatey flavours of the porter have been deepened by our casks and the fruity flavours of our whisky have been elevated by the rich maltiness of the porter. We spent many days at the marrying stage, ensuring that the balance of flavours and the bottling strength of 50% abv complemented each other, and we're very pleased with both the whisky and the beer. The two stand alongside each other really well, and, although they both drink tremendously well on their own, it's when they're tasted side by side that they really sing," said whisky director Joe Clark.

Limited to just 2,000 bottles, Filey Bay Porter Cask costs £80 with a tube, or £78 without a tube and is available online at https://www.spiritofyorkshire.com/, from the distillery shop and from specialist retailers nationwide.

Rip Curl, alc 8.5% vol, has complex fruity flavours from the dark, roasted, chocolate, and coffee flavours of the beer combined with the light, fruity, vanilla notes of Filey Bay. Barrel-aged for 15months, it is the fourth in Wold Top's Ebb & Flow series of beers, a collaboration between the two businesses that Tom Mellor co-founded. It costs £4.62 for 330 ml and is available online at https://woldtopbrewery.co.uk and from selected independent retailers.

Spirit of Yorkshire is a true field-to-bottle distillery and one of only a handful of distilleries that uses 100% homegrown barley to produce its single malt whisky. Filey Bay single malt whisky is now available throughout the UK and in a growing number of export markets.

Farm-based Wold Top brews cask, keg and bottled ales using home and Wolds-grown malting barley, hops and pure, chalk-filtered Yorkshire Wolds water.

Photograph caption: L - R Joe Clark from Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery with Henry Culpepper from Wold Top