I saw this morning that Jacob Grier on reason posted a story on US distilleries getting hit with unexpected fees from the FDA for making hand sanitizer.
Back near the start of the Covid-19 crisis in the US, many distilleries stepped up and started making hand sanitizer as there was a severe shortage and distilleries already have all the kit necessary.
The English Whiskey Company has today announced the release of their first ever age statement whiskey: an 11 year old single malt.
You can buy this new whiskey from their online store.
I’ve toured this distillery twice, oddly enough both times in December (10th December 2016 and 22nd December 2018), and had good tours both times (second time was actually a great tour) so when they reopen for tours I’d recommend getting along to the distillery for a tour.
As it looks like countries are starting to open up again after Covid-19, I’m going to post a daily distillery to add to your list to visit.
While the distillery, most likely, won’t be open immediately, you can start to plan your visits.
The distilleries are not in any order, just a random suggestion based on the distilleries I have listed.
If you know of a distillery which is open for tours, anywhere in the world, which I don’t have listed, please submit details of the distillery for inclusion. By tour, I mean a guided tour where the history and/or process is described as you’re shown around (a minimum version of this is a detailed explanation while at a sample bar with the distillery kit visible).
The legal ban led to criminal gangs gaining control of the beer and liquor supply of many cities. By the late 1920s, a new opposition to prohibition mobilized nationwide. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the , which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933. Some states continued the statewide prohibition, marking one of the last stages of the Progressive Era.
Prohibition ended in 1933 and alcohol production in the US is now a booming industry. When I visited Kentucky in 2016, I visited 21 distilleries (22 making whiskey and one making brandy (Copper & Kings) and hope to visit a few more new ones which have opened for tours since.
There aren’t many distilleries in Northern Ireland, but I visited three of them this year with only one scoring a perfect 10 for the tour.
Killowen Distillery is located up a single track road near Warrenpoint in Country Down near the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Like Louch Mask, Killowen is a new craft distillery. Being based in the UK different rules apply to how they can make whiskey which is interesting to hear, especially when you also hear the differences between Irish and Scotch whiskey making processes.
I am pretty sure that Killowen is the smallest distillery I have visited in Europe (only Barrel House and Old Pogue in Kentucky were of similar size when I visited them in 2016) and the tour is conducted by the founder, Brendan.
I’ve had a few tours delivered by the distillery founder and you’re basically guaranteed a detailed tour from someone who is passionate about the distillery and the spirit they make. Killowen have some interesting stuff going on and it was really good to see everything up close and to hear about where the distillery had come from and what their future plans are.
The island of Ireland isn’t very big so weather you’re in Belfast or Dublin, Killowen is quick and easy to get to. Tours typically take place on Saturdays and Sundays, but make sure you book in advance to make sure Brendan is available for the tour.
I visited seven distilleries in the Republic of Ireland in 2019, experiencing eight tours with two of them scoring a perfect 10.
The first of them was Powerscourt Distillery in Co. Wicklow which opened for tours during late spring; I visited within the first couple of weeks of their opening and was very impressed with the standard of the tour. Being located on the Powerscourt Estate they expected to be quite busy with visitors so if you’re going for a tour, I’d recommend booking.
The second distillery was one of the last I visited in 2019 is located in Co. Mayo in the west of Ireland. I arrived at it from the south west along very narrow country roads. Lough Mask struck me then as the most remote distillery I’d visited and that is perhaps true, but when I left and drove north east I reached main roads quite quickly. I’d recommend making sure you have SatNav maps downloaded as their is little signal at the distillery if you are using Google Maps and it wants to download some maps.
While Powerscourt and Lough Mask distilleries are both new they are both also very different. Powerscourt is a small distillery, whereas Lough Mask is a craft distillery. This is a distinction first made to me by New Riff in Kentucky who are on the Craft Bourbon Trail, but call themselves a small distillery and not a craft one.
A small distillery usually has a large financial backing and is built in a shiny new building with shiny new equipment looking like a finished factory, whereas a craft distillery tends not to have that same level of financial backing so look a little more rough and ready. A craft distillery is usually smaller and you’re more likely to meet one of the founders, which happened at Lough mask where Eoin arrived part way through the tour and I had the opportunity to talk to him.
I’m not knocking either of these types of distillery as both are capable of producing great spirit and delivery a great tour, as both of these distilleries do. If you want to experience two great tours and see the beautiful scenery of Ireland, then you couldn’t do better than visiting Powerscourt in Co. Wicklow and Lough Mask in Co. Mayo.
In 2019, I only visited two distilleries in England and only one of them scored a 10 after my visit. That was the City of Manchester Distillery where I visited to do the Rum Experience.
The distillery wasn’t the easiest to find, in part because Google Maps places it on the wrong side of the street, and partly because I expected it to be a building rather than built into the arches under a railway bridge.
The rum experience is a comprehensive one which covers the history of sugar cane agriculture as well as the history of rum. You’ll try several different rums and almost always have one in your hand. From the painkiller cocktail when you arrive to the zombie at the end.
This isn’t just a tour, but an experience where you get to distil your own rum and then bring it away to age in a little oak cask.
Coles Distillery was the fourth distillery I visited in 2019 and is set in south-west Wales. I had originally intended to do a two-week trip around Scotland, but failed to do any planning so changed it last minute to a week in Wales.
During that week, I visited three other distilleries in Wales, but Coles was the stand out tour and the only one in Wales which I rated a 10. Coles Distillery is set in the beautiful Carmarthenshire country side in the village of Llanddarog, the dark timber clad building no different to a large garden shed behind the White Hart Inn.
The distillery is owned by the same family who run the White Hart Inn and uses a lot of custom designed equipment giving the distillery a unique feel. The tour needs to be booked in advance and is conducted by one of the distillery founders meaning you not only get to see the distillery, but also hear about its founding and the equipment used within.
The distillery makes a range of different spirits which you get to sample at the end of the tour, after which you can purchase bottles if you want; I opted to go for bottles of a few of their rums and a plum brandy.
The tour is nicely timed so that you can then take in a very nice lunch in the family pub.
In 2019 I have visited 53 distilleries across five countries. The quality of tours has been somewhat mixed, but I thought as we come to the end of the year, I’d highlight those which scored a perfect 10.
I’ve done a mix of tours over the year, from the standard 40 minute mass-tourist tour to the in-depth tour for the real enthusiast. My ratings are based on the type of tour and how well it meets it’s market.
This does mean that an in-depth tour which doesn’t compare to the best of it’s competitors in that market won’t be included, even though it might be a better tour than one aimed to the mass market, whereas the mass-market one will be included if it exceeds expectations for its market.
Over the coming days, I’ll be doing a post per distillery which met my criteria this year for a perfect 10 rating.
Following the UK referendum on European Union (EU) membership, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is scheduled to leave the EU on 31st October 2019. This has the potential to disrupt many businesses, but a new trade deal has been struck by the British government which will allow all UK businesses to continue to trade on preferential terms with the Mozambique and the Southern African Customs Union (consisting of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Eswatini and Mozambique) following the UKs departure.
The focus on the deal with regards to Northern Ireland (NI) is because without this deal, Irish whiskey from Northern Ireland would have faced a tariff of 154 cents per litre post-Brexit, plus additional taxes, which it currently doesn’t face and would mean a sharp division in costs in the Irish whiskey industry. This would have had an immediate impact on large distilleries such as Bushmills as well as smaller, newer distilleries such as Echlinville and Killowen as they grow and expand into new markets.
William Lavelle, head of Drinks Ireland and the Irish Whiskey Association, said:
“South Africa is currently the fifth largest export market for Irish whiskey while sub-Saharan Africa is proving to be a major growth region for our category.
“Thanks to the existing EU agreement with the Southern African Customs Union, there are currently zero tariffs on Irish whiskey exports to South Africa and other markets in the union.”
In late August, Sliabh Liag announced that they had received permission for the construction of a new distillery in Ardara, Donegal.
According to ,a href=’https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2019/08/sliabh-liag-gets-green-light-for-whiskey-distillery/’>The Spirit Business, construction will begin later this year, with distilling operations expected to commence in 2020.
The site will incorporate a visitor experience covering the history of PoitÃn and include a tasting bar and shop although there will be no cafe or restaurant, with visitors encouraged to make use of local businesses.
The facility will have the capacity to produce 400,000 litres of pure alcohol annually, which equates to around 1,700 filled casks, and more than 1.2 million bottles of whiskey when sold.
With additional good news for Donegal, the new distillery will create jobs for at least 40 people.
The Irish Whiskey Association has been awarded legal protection known as geographic indication status in the Indian market (the largest whiskey market in the world. This means that only whiskey produced in Ireland can carry the Irish Whiskey label in India.
Old Bushmills Distillery
Carleen Madigan, the Irish Whiskey Association’s legal adviser:
“Securing the geographical indication for Irish whiskey in India is another landmark for the Irish whiskey category.
“Like similar registrations achieved earlier in the year in Australia and South Africa, this is another major success in our efforts to protect the integrity of Irish whiskey on a worldwide basis
“We will now be able to take much tougher enforcement action against fake Irish whiskey products on sale in India.
“This protection will also enable us to maximise opportunities to increase sales in this crucial whiskey market as it is an important selling point for the Indian consumer knowing they can enjoy Irish whiskey confident in the quality and authenticity of the product.”
There is a number Whiskey Trails, in a number of countries, and a new one has been launched in the USA. Spanning a number of states, the Whiskey Rebellion Trail has been launched. The Whiskey Rebellion Trail is made up of four cities, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and Baltimore, in addition to towns and rural areas in-between.
The Whiskey Rebellion Trail was created by a group of craft distillers and visitors’ organisations throughout the region to highlight the contributions of the region to the history of American spirits and the exciting rise of award-winning craft distilleries in the area over the last several years.
The Whiskey Rebellion insurrection in Pennsylvania in 1794
For the first time since 1925, there’s a single malt distillery in the centre of Edinburgh; Holyrood Distillery and visitor experience sits in a 180-year old building next to Holyrood Park and within easy walking distance of Edinburgh’s main attractions.
The distillery has just announced they are open for tours in their new visitor centre.
There are four experiences available:
Holyrood Distillery Tour which is approximately 60 minutes long, and is a fully guided and immersive experience of the entire distillery. You will be introduced to a world of flavour, testing how well you taste, getting hands-on with botanicals, learning about both malt whisky and gin production, and enjoying spirit samples along the way.
Holyrood Gin Experience which is approximately 60 minutes long, and is led by an expert guide. You will be introduced to the process behind gin distillation, to the world of flavour-packed botanicals, and to the particular approach of Holyrood in the production of their own gins and gin liqeuers.
Holyrood Whisky Experience – The Holyrood Whisky Experience is approximately 60 minutes long, and is led by an expert guide. The experience takes place in the whisky distillery and maturation room, where you will be introduced to the world of single malt whisky, but particularly to the process, ingredients and equipment used in Holyrood’s approach to single malt whisky production. You will also enjoy opportunities to sample from their specially selected whisky range.
Jack Mayo’s Whisky Masterclass – This two-hour masterclass has been developed, and is led by, the Head Distiller Jack Mayo. Jack will guide you through the whisky distillery, including the behind-the-scenes production area, and will introduce you to Holyrood’s approach to production and distillation. After the tour, Jack will lead you through an exclusive tasting experience of Holyrood’s specially selected whisky range, and newmake spirit.
I’m going to see about booking a tour very soon; I’m just waiting to see if a couple of friends want to join me on a distillery day split between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
On the 11th July 2019, Missouri Governor Mike Parsons signed into law a Missouri Bourbon Whiskey regional designation. The new law, House Bill 266, goes into effect on 28th August 2019.
There are three key requirements for distillers to meet if they wanto label their product Missouri bourbon or Missouri bourbon whiskey:
The product must be “mached, fermented, distilled, aged and bottled” in Missouri.
The bourbon must be aged in oak barrels manufactured in Missouri.
All “corn used in the mash must be Missouri grown corn”.
The first two rules come into force on the 28th August 2019, but they have until 1st January 2020 before the third rule comes into force.
The St Louis Today has full details on the story; unfortunately, they region lock so the article isn’t accessible for potential readers in Europe.
Scotch Whisky is the most popular type of whisky in the world. The Scotch Whisky Association is the organisation behind the promotion of Scotch Whisky around the world.
Three Jim Beam warehouses in Versailles, Kentucky, caught fire last night after a suspected lightning strike. This was first reported by WKLY (a CBS Affiliate who blocks traffic from the UK).
There are four tours available in August and I imagine they’ll sell out fast; I’m going to hold off for the moment as the current tour is of the gin distillation.
I’ve been following the story of Leith Distillery as they plan to be producing Scotch whisky and this is the main type of distillery I like to isit (along with rum and brandy).
