English whisky’s Indie heroes
The big label behemoths of Scotch are in an almighty scrap with the Indie upstarts making a noise (and creating a serious stir) south of the border. England’s alternative whisky scene has a lot of bottle — here’s the best of them
I like to buy whisky from Independent bottlers. I like that I can get to know the style of the ‘master blender’ at an quality Indie and then trust them to introduce me to distilleries I might have otherwise never discovered.
Finding a good independent bottler is like meeting a great bartender who knows your palate and the right cocktails to fire your imagination without you having to even pick up the menu. Better than that, the independent bottler takes you there from the comfort of your home.
The joy of these whisky genies is their ability to sniff out the best casks and give them the attention they deserve. For the big league distilleries producing huge quantities of whisky, those particular cask gems are easily overlooked.
Independent bottlers revel in letting those casks shine, through innovative cask ageing, careful barrel control and limited bottling when, and only when, the whisky signals that it is ready.
For years independent bottlers mainly focused on Scotch, but as more distilleries pop up around the world, these bottlers are going global to source the most unique and interesting casks available.
In whisky-making terms English whisky is still relatively young — the first registered cask of English single malt whisky was filled in December 2006 by The English Whisky Co at St George’s Distillery — so there aren’t many surplus casks available for independent bottlers to put their unique spin on.
“Whisky requires three years to be bottled as ‘whisky’ in Europe, and many English distilleries are still waiting for their whisky to reach an age where it's suitable for bottling”, Dave Worthington, Global Brand Ambassador for That Boutique-y Whisky Company, tells Barley.
“The capacity of these distilleries also affects the availability of casks for independent bottlers. Smaller distilleries might have fewer casks available for sale to third-party bottlers.”
However, bright-spark British bottlers such as That Boutique-y Whisky Company have forged special relationships which have allowed them to work with English distilleries from the outset, with fantastic results.
“The first Boutique-y Whisky release from The Oxford Artisan Distillery was from their very first cask they filled”, says Worthington. “They shared that first cask with us, that’s really special.”
While we wait for the more mature stock from English distilleries to reach the market, there’s plenty of good stuff to choose from. Here’s 10 great independently bottled whiskies from English distilleries, available now to get you started on your journey of Indie alchemy.
Cadenhead’s English Whisky Co 12 Year Old (46%)
What you’ll pay: £70
Scotland’s oldest independent bottler focused its attention south of the border with this release from English Whisky Company. Matured in bourbon casks it has a unique smokey character with heather and woodland notes balanced with a little vanilla and honey.
2. That Boutique-y Whisky Co English Whisky Co 10 Year Old (50.1%)
What you’ll pay: £69.95
With the trademark quirky label from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, in this case featuring a three headed dragon representing a triple distilled English whisky, this 10 Year Old release is one for the peat lovers. The peated malt has been matured in first fill Jim Beam bourbon barrels. Think vanilla, butterscotch, toffee popcorn, fiery cinnamon and a touch of mint.
3. North Star - English Whisky Co 11 Year Old (49.8%)
What you’ll pay: £86.93
A Glasgow-based, family run independent bottler, North Star has also branched into World whisky from its Scotch safety net. This 11 Year Old from English Whisky Co has given the whisky an entirely different spin to those we’ve seen so far, using Burgundy casks to provide wood char, grape skin and stewed plum flavours.
4. Watt Whisky - English Whisky Co 12 Year Old (57.1%)
What you’ll pay: £88.95
One of the delightful (and often frustrating) things about whiskies from independent bottlers is that they’re usually produced in very limited runs. This 12 Year Old from Watt Whisky is no exception, with just 228 bottles released. Track one down and you’ll find some smoke and sweet marzipan with an oily, creamy texture in this first fill bourbon matured whisky.
5. That Boutique-y Whisky Company - Cotswolds 3 Year Old (50.4%)
What you’ll pay: £58.95
Cotswolds Distillery fired up its stills in September 2014. While it has kept the vast majority of its whisky stocks for official distillery releases, a few casks have made their way into the hands of savvy independent bottlers. Made using local Cotswolds barley, this 3 Year Old is a sumptuous whisky with winter spices, toffee apples and treacle.
6. Berry Bros & Rudd - The Oxford Artisan Distillery English Rye Whisky 2019 (54.5%)
What you’ll pay: £125
Historic wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros & Rudd bottled this whisky from The Oxford Artisan Distillery as part of their ‘Pioneers’ series, in collaboration with cocktail wizz Ryan Chetiyawardana, or Mr Lyan. The series brought together distillers who challenge conventions while crafting exceptional spirits - and the team at The Oxford Artisan Distillery certainly tick these boxes. This whisky provides delicious white and dark chocolate notes, with rye bread and spice.
7. The Heart Cut - East London Liquor Co. Rye Whisky (49.9%)
What you’ll pay: £59.95
This is a really fun one. East London Liquor Co. teamed up with locals Hackney Brewery and The Heart Cut independent bottlers for a collaboration, maturing East London Liquor Company whisky (combining 55% malted rye with 45% malted barley) in Hackney Brewery Chocolate Stout Casks. The result is a tasty whisky like biting into a chocolate cherry brownie.
8. East London Liquor Co, The Whisky Show 2023 (62.1%)
What you’ll pay: £79.95
This whisky was chosen as one of the show bottlings for The Whisky Show 2023 by the team at The Whisky Exchange. It’s a crowd-pleaser, matured in first fill ex-oloroso sherry cask and giving off plenty of cherry and toffee aromas.
9. That Boutique-y Whisky Company Adnams 8 Year Old (50.5%)
What you’ll pay: £49.95
That Boutique-y Whisky Company has released two whiskies from Adnams, a 7 year old and an 8 year old. This is the second release and provides a delicious barbecue sweetness with cinnamon and pepper and a touch of fresh strawberry on the finish.
10. Thompson Bros Bimber 2017 3 Year Old (57.9%)
Achieving a cool 89 points on WhiskyFun (one positive mention here can skyrocket the price of a great whisky) the Thompson Bros Bimber 2017 was a delightful dram when you could get it. Now available mostly on the secondary market (much to Thompson Bros’ displeasure) the whisky is full of fruit flavours with delicious ginger on the finish.
Five English whisky distilleries you need to know
English Whisky Company
As the oldest registered English whisky distillery, English Whisky Co in Norfolk is ahead of the curve with aged stocks and is therefore one of the most often released by independent bottlers. Founder James Nelstop’s early aim to create England’s finest single malt whisky led to the production of the first English single malt in 100 years, released in 2009, and started a wave of English whisky distillery openings. Boutique-y has worked closely with The English Whisky Co since 2016, helping to build the reputation of quality English whisky.
Dave Worthington tells the story. “I have fond memories of that first bottling from The English Whisky Co., sneaking it into a blind whisky tasting with the Glasgow Whisky Club. They loved it, but still rib me about bringing an English Whisky to their club. We’ve gone on to bottle a number of casks from The English Whisky Co. They’ve all been very different, cask selection, malt type, and always superb. Our latest release is a cask of their triple distilled peated malt — another new dimension, and unique in English whisky.”
The Oxford Artisan Distillery
At the heart of The Oxford Artisan Distillery is a passion for ancient heritage grains. The team produce whisky with total provenance from grain to glass, caring as much about the regenerative agriculture used to produce its grains, which are chosen for flavour not yield, as they do about the distilling and blending.
East London Liquor Co.
Distilling and serving ‘booze with bottle’ East London Liquor Co. is certainly on the trendier end of the whisky producing spectrum. Think more tattoos and late night drinking sessions than history and heritage. But what’s important is the whisky — and it’s great!
Adnams
You’d be forgiven for thinking Adnams made beer not whisky. A brewery for over 130 years, Adnams turned its hand to spirits producing in 2010 and launched its first single malt whiskies in December 2013.
Bimber
Another London distillery, Bimber’s first whisky was released in 2019 and sold out in just three hours. The demand for the new distillery means not many casks have made it into the hands of independent bottlers. But for those lucky few who manage to get hold of an elusive independently bottled Bimber, look out for twists on their trademark accessible, fruit forward flavour.
However, it is unclear what the future has in store for Bimber, due to an ongoing legal case that has seen the owner extradited to Poland to stand trial for conspiracy to murder.
