# English whisky

English whisky (English whiskey) is a liquor made from cereal grains, malt and water that is produced in England. This includes malt whisky and grain whisky.
Although England is not well known for whisky production, the industry was active until the late 19th century and was revived in 2003. The English Whisky Guild is the trade body for English whisky.

## History
### Origins and discontinuation

In 1636 the Worshipful Company of Distillers was granted a charter to produce spirits, including whisky.
In 1825, the Chancellor of the Exchequer reduced the duty on alcohol and permitted distillers to sell directly to the public. The government believed this would encourage distillers to produce higher quality spirits, eliminating the dangerous rectification process. These changes were expected to bolster distillers' prosperity and to generate revenue for the Treasury. The reduction in alcohol duty led to a near doubling of English spirit consumption and solidified England's reputation for distilling excellence. Coupled with the introduction of cask-aged English whisky, this boosted demand for English spirits, which accounted for one-sixth of England's revenue by 1885.
In the 1887 book The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom by Alfred Barnard, the following English distilleries were listed:
* Lea Valley Distillery, Stratford, Essex (founded in the late 19th century) — produced both grain and malt whisky.
* Bank Hall Distillery, Liverpool — produced grain and malt whisky.
* Bristol Distillery, Bristol (founded in the 17th century) — produced grain whisky which was "sent to Scotland and Ireland to make a Blended Scotch and Irish whisky, for whisky purpose it is specially adapted, and stands in high favour".
* Vauxhall Distillery in Vauxhall, Liverpool (founded in 1781) — produced grain whisky.
In 1903 Lea Valley Distillery, owned by The Distillers Company closed and they moved production to Scotland due to the expanding popularity of gin and the taking off of Scotch whisky.

### Re-establishment

In 2005, The English Whisky Co. Ltd. received permission to construct the first registered whisky distillery in England in over a century. Its initial release of single malt whisky arrived in 2009, marking the first bottling and release of English whisky in over 100 years. In 2013, The London Distillery Company began production of the first single malt whisky in London since Lea Valley Distillery closed in 1903. Three other English distilleries, also producing whisky by 2014, were The Cotswolds Distillery, Ludlow Distillery, and The Lakes Distillery.

## Definition

A process is under way to create a statutory definition for English whisky. Currently, English whisky producers adhere to EU Regulation (2019/787), which defines whisky, as well as the guidelines of the British Standards Institute.

### Guidance

On 12 September 2023, the British Standards Institute published its first guideline BS 8636 for the production and packaging of English, Scotch, Welsh, and Irish whisky. These guidelines outline the following requirements:
* Color: Caramel
* Maturation: Minimum of three years in wooden casks
* Sweeteners/Additives: None permitted
* Alcohol by Volume (ABV): Minimum of 40%
* Distillation: Less than 94.8% volume

### Legal

An English whisky GI is currently in progress, with a decision due on 19 May 2025.

## Attributes

Types :
| Malt whisky | Produced using malt barley, distilled in copper pots twice and matured in wooden casks of at least 700 litres (150 imp gal; 180 US gal) for a minimum of three years. |
| Grain whisky | Produced at least partly from grains other than barley, such as maize, wheat and rye. |
| Rye whisky | Produced using rye grain and known to be peppery and spicy. |
| Cornish whisky | Produced using local produce and is distilled, matured and bottled in Cornwall. There are currently 2 distilleries that produce Cornish whisky Pocketful of Stones Distiller and Hicks and Healeys |
| Styles ||
| Single Malt | Produced using 100% single malt barley within a single distillery. |
| Triple Malt | Aged in three types of casks, but not blended. |
| Blended whisky | A combination of malt and grain whisky within a single whisky. These are often smoother and cheaper than single malt whisky. |
| Single Cask | Bottled from a single cask or barrel without blending the whisky. |
| Small Batch | Produced by mixing the contents of a relatively small number of premium selected barrels. |
| Peated | Produced using malt barley that has been dried over a fire; this gives the whisky a smokey flavour. |
| Cask strength | Bottled from the barrel without any additional water. |

### Characteristics
#### Flavours

English whisky has four flavours:
* sweet (vanilla, oats, raisins, peach, apricot)
* savoury (rye bread, herbs)
* spicy (cooking spices, pepper, gingerbread, citrus peel)
* smoky (oak, peat, leather)

#### Colour

English whisky has a variety of different colours including caramel and yellow.

## Distilleries
### Distilleries

There are 55 distilleries in England as of 2024, 26 of these distilleries are part of the English Whisky Guild.
The English whisky distilleries are all at various stages of development with the oldest, St George's Distillery, brewing whisky for nearly 20 years. The Cotswolds distillery is the largest producer of whisky in England.

### Regions

The English whisky distilleries are spread across nine regions, as follows:
Numbers of distilleries by region :
| Region | Number |
| North East | 3 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 5 |
| East Midlands | 2 |
| East of England | 2 |
| London | 4 |
| South East | 9 |
| South West | 11 |
| West Midlands | 6 |
| North West | 7 |

#### South East

The whisky distilleries in the South East of England include: The Oxford Artisan Distillery, Black Bottle Distillery, Isle of Wight distillery, Copper Rivet Distillers, Anno Distillers and Canterbury Brewers & Distillers.

## End Stages
### Independent bottlers

There are 18 independent whisky bottlers in England, including Cadenhead, That Boutique-y, North Star, Watt Whisky, Berry Bros & Rudd, The Heart Cut, The Whisky Show and Thompson Bros.

### Distributors

| No | Distributor | Distillery (ies) | Start date | Area Served |
| 1. | Sip and Savour | The Oxford Artisan Distillery | 20 October 2020 | UK |
| 2. | BBC Spirits | Gullivers Whisky | 1 March 2021 | Europe |
| 3. | Mangrove | The English Whisky Co | 18 March 2021 | UK |
| 3. | Mangrove | East London Liquor Company | 1 November 2022 | UK |
| 4. | Monarq Group | The Lakes Distillery | 15 May 2023 | Caribbean, Latin America, US |
| 5. | Illva Saronno | Cotswolds Distillery | 11 December 2023 | UK, Benelux |
| 6. | ImpEx Beverages | Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery | 6 April 2022 | US |

## Trade
### Economic valuation

From March to April 2023 the English Whisky Guild conducted a survey of English distilleries. The survey found that there were then 38,000 casks of English whisky maturing in distillery warehouses, and an estimated 50,000 casks expected to be laid down by distilleries by the end of 2024 with 97% of distilleries making single malt and a quarter of distilleries making whiskies using other grain such like rye. The total value of the maturing stock was estimated to exceed £1 billion during that period.
On 4 June 2024, the English Whisky Guild published its first annual report. The report found that sales of English whisky last year equated to 50,000 (9L) casks, with 40% of English whisky being sold internationally as well as 250,000 people visiting English whisky distillery last year. The total value of English whisky sold domestically and internationally was £1 billion.
English whisky distilleries have created 443 jobs across England, and the product is sold internationally in 32 countries around the world, including: Japan, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Singapore and the United States.

### International disputes
#### United States

On June 25, 2011, US authorities informed The English Whisky Co that it would not be able to sell English single malt whisky in the US market as it is produced using recycled oak barrels and US law requires that new oak barrels be used. The English Whisky Co accused the US of double standards, as whisky from other nations including Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France uses recycled barrels to produce whisky.
On January 3, 2013, after a five-year dispute, and lobbying the Foreign Office, UK trade bodies and the US embassy, The English Whisky Co was granted permission to sell English whisky in the US market.

## Achievements and events
### Achievements
#### Auctions

On 8 September 2022, the White Peaks Distillery auctioned its Wire Works Single Malt Whisky which sold for a total of £9,900 ($11,337).

#### Net zero whisky distillation

On 6 November 2023 the Cooper King Distillery released a whisky distilled using only Net zero emissions energy.

#### Partnership agreements

On 1 December 2021 Gullivers & Co signed a partnership agreements with England Rugby to produce rugby themed whisky which would become the official whisky of the English Rugby Union.
As of 2023 the partnership agreement between Gullivers and England Ruby is still active with England's No. 6 Single Malt Whisky becoming the latest English rugby themed whisky to be produced

#### International awards

On 30 April 2024, the Circumstance Distillery Single Grain Estate Whisky earned a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

### Events
#### English Whisky Festival

The English whisky festival is an annual whisky event that is hosted by the English whisky Society and takes place in Birmingham at different points in November. There have been 3 events so far which consisted of master classes, whisky tasting and other activities.
The first event took place on 18 November 2023, it was hosted online by due to COVID 19, and contained 30 whiskies from 14 distilleries. The second event took place on 18 November 2023, it consisted of 32 distilleries and contained two whisky master classes, one by the Cooper King Distillery and one by The English Whisky Co. The Third Event took place on November 23 2024, it consisted of 30 whisky distilleries and contained a selection of festival exclusive whiskies, some of the oldest English whiskies available and a free whisky tasting glass.

#### English whisky day

English whisky day is an annual whisky event that takes place at Westminster Hall in London to promote and bring awareness of the growing English whisky sector in England.
The first event was held on 28 November 2023 and consisted of 16 whisky producers. A second event was held on 14 March 2025 which was hosted by the MP for Thirsk and Malton Kevin Hollinrake which was attended by 50 MP’s and Lords and over 200 guests.

#### Whisky Trail

On 28 August 2018, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association launched an English-Welsh Whisky Trail.
English distilleries that are on the trail include:
* Adnams Cooper House Distillery
* Bimber Distillery
* Chase Distillery
* Copper King Distillery
* Copper Rivet Distillery
* Cotswolds Distillery
* Dartmoor Distillery
* Durhams Distillery
* East London Liquor Company
* The English Whisky Co
* Hicks and Healey Distillery
* Isle of Wight Distillery
* The Lakes Distillery
* The London Distillery Co (Closed)