England, Ireland and Wales

England, Ireland, and Wales have collectively experienced a whisky revival. Once upon a time, Ireland was considered a powerhouse of whiskey, but it has since consolidated into just Jameson’s and Bushmills. Whereas, whisky making in England was practically extinct from 1905 until 2006, it went from 0 – 50 distilleries! One could even argue that Wales began earlier in 2000 with Penderyn. Curious to know more? Read on!

England

So how did England go from 0 – 50 distilleries in just 20 years? It was a mix of factors from a “farm-to-bottle” fancy and expiration of old laws that had minimum still sizes. The result?

The English Whisky Co (aka St. George’s Distillery) kicked off the rebirth, launching their whiskies in 2006. They were soon joined by other players – notably Cotswolds – known for traditional methods with a twist in the fermentation process that produces fruity flavours fairly fast. Former Macallan master blender Dhavall Gandhi is behind the Lakes Distillery’s “holistic maturation” approach – treating the cask and spirit as a single evolving entity.

Further distilleries took specialised approaches like Fielden, who honed the “grain” part of the revival using heritage grains,19th century agricultural methods. On the other end of the specialisation spectrum lies Wire Works who focused on the “process” using local live brewers’ yeast and a long fermentation, bringing a technical (even industrial?) approach to whisky making.

Over the years, our sampling adventures of Ireland’s whisky offerings have led to the general impression that if you want a sociable dram, chances are an Irish whisky will fit the bill! While most are triple distilled and do not use peat, as always in the world of whisky, for every ‘rule’ there are exceptions. Irish whiskey has certainly made a comeback with several new distilleries entering the mix too!

Ireland

Wales

Wales beat England to the revival “punch” with the founding of Penderyn in 2000 with their Faraday single pot still – which produces an incredibly high 92% ABV in a single pass – part of what enables a light, fruity house style in contrast with most heavier Scottish whiskies. A few other distilleries have joined Penderyn in Wales, however, so far I’ve only had a chance to sample Dà Mhile’s gin rather than whisky!

Penderyn

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