Whisky will be available from September as niche producer expands beyond gin and rum
Abingdon Distillery is setting up cask swaps with local independent brewers, and has concluded its first “white label” agreement to sell branded spirits to a new bar operation in the county.
In a further example of co-operation between local artisan drinks producers, it will invite local brewers to showcase their beers when it sets up a taproom. The distillery currently operates in Coxeter House in the centre of Abingdon, but now it needs to expand and hopes to move into a barn on a local farm where a taproom can be provided.
Cask swaps are particularly important to distillers as their spirits mature for years in the cask, gaining depth of flavour and colour in the process. Brewers that use casks from a distillery likewise gain an added appeal for their beer.
Set up as a commercial operation in 2018, Abingdon Distillery has found success with its gins and flavoured rums, with barrel-aged rums also being launched this year. It is one of many gin producers now turning to whisky and the English Whisky Guild already has nearly 30 members, including renowned East Anglia brewer Adnams.
The distillery’s founder, Jordan Morris, said: “We started selling gin in a couple of local pubs and at Abingdon Market, but it then snowballed into a commercial operation. The gin boom started in the early 2000s and is now ingrained, and the turn-around time is much less than for whisky.
“We are producing two flavour profiles for single malt whisky, and will also have wheat and grain whiskies. All our grain is grown in the UK and all waste goes to feed cows as we try to be self-sufficient. We are talking to a couple of farmers about using their barns for a taproom, where we could also sell pizzas and invite local brewers to serve their beer.”
Its whiskies are unpeated and matured in Bourbon and sherry casks, but it is also using unusual casks that held orange wine or cherry brandy to achieve subtle tastes. It is aiming for the connoisseur market with bottles costing from around £70.
English whisky may be a new concept for some, as many associate whisky production with the peat moorlands of Scotland or Ireland. But Jordan points out that even spring water needs to be treated and filtered, claiming that whisky can be produced to the same standards further south.
“Craft beer has come on by leaps and bounds, and is totally different to mass produced beer,” he added. “This is a different type of whisky to what people are used to, and we want to create a hub where people can learn about whisky and get excited about what’s coming next.”
