The resurrection of London’s lost whisky
A century after London fell silent as a whisky city, The London Distillery Company returns with its first 10-year-old single malt, a rare survivor of closure and a signal of serious intent, writes Tom Pattinson
In the early 19th century, much like today, whisky was largely the preserve of the Scottish. Barley and malt from England travelled north to supply hungry Scottish distilleries, while the dominant spirit being distilled in London was gin.
An entrepreneur and engineer named Ralph Dodd set out to change that by opening a London distillery in 1807. He was, in effect, an early pioneer of crowdfunding, selling 2,000 shares at £50 each to raise £100,000 in capital. It was a smart idea, but he fell foul of the Bubble Act, which limited the number of investors in a company, and the venture collapsed. Over the next century London’s whisky distilling story was sporadic before finally shutting down in 1903, leaving the capital without a working whisky distillery for more than 100 years.
That changed in 2011 when another crowdfunding campaign, this time led by Darren Rook and Nick Taylor, brought The London Distillery Company back into being. It began life at an experimental site in Battersea before moving to Bermondsey. The founders set out to establish a distinctive London style of whisky, leaning into heritage barley varieties and flavour rather than efficiency. For a brief period, it looked like the start of something durable. Financial difficulties, however, led to closure in 2020, and the site where the distillery once stood is now a block of flats. How very London.
What remained were around 70 casks of carefully made whisky, much of it produced with heritage grains. Those casks changed hands several times. They were initially held by the British Honey Company, which had plans to develop honey-infused spirits, before being acquired in full by Gleann Mòr Spirits in 2023.
The Scottish independent bottler, known for Rare Finds and a portfolio of single cask releases, formally revived the London brand in early 2025. The plan was twofold: steward the remaining stock with care and search for a new London site to build a third incarnation of the distillery.
London’s first 10-year-old
Since then, roughly 10 of those original 70 casks have been used for limited releases, including Golden Union, which married malt whiskies from Adnams in Suffolk with London stock. Now comes the first 10-year-old.
Ten Times Around the Sun was drawn from a single ex-bourbon cask, number 007, laid down on 20 October 2015 and bottled at 51.4% ABV. Limited to 220 bottles and priced at £89.95, it is described as London’s first 10-year-old single malt of the modern era.
When that cask was filled, there were perhaps five English whisky distilleries operating. Today, more than 70 claim to be laying down spirit. The context has shifted dramatically.
“Ten Times Around the Sun marks a defining moment for The London Distillery Company,” says Matt McKay, managing director and whisky maker. “It honours one of our earliest casks, capturing the original spirit that began our journey. This release is a tangible piece of London’s whisky history, surviving the distillery’s closure in 2020 and now emerging as a symbol of our return. This is a whisky born of our past, shaped by our revival, and confidently demonstrating our bold, bright future.”
The whisky was distilled using Quench spring barley and matured entirely in a single ex-bourbon barrel. Bottled non chill filtered and natural in colour, it carries the imprint of both grain and wood without cosmetic interference.
On the nose, McKay describes “extreme concentrated tinned fruits, stone fruits, tropical fruits”. Official tasting notes reference bright peaches and sliced mango layered with soft nougat, earthy dunnage floors and dusty oak spice. The palate is bold and fruit forward, with syrupy preserved fruits alongside milk chocolate and creamy cereal character, lifted by cask pepperiness. It is thick and textural, says McKay. “You know you’re drinking it,” he adds, pointing to darker chocolate and wooden notes on the back palate and a finish that lingers on ripe fruit before tightening into Szechuan pepper spice.
For all the celebration, there is arithmetic at work. Around 70 casks remained when Gleann Mòr acquired the stock. That number is now closer to 60. Each release must build awareness without draining reserves before a new distillery is operational. Roughly half of each outturn is sold direct through the website, the other half allocated between on and off trade. London Distillery sits within a niche inside a niche, and credibility depends on being present where serious whisky drinkers shop.
The long-term ambition is to resume production in London. Sites are being explored this year, though planning, capital and construction mean distilling again in the capital will take time. When it does happen, the intention is to return to the grain philosophy that defined the 2011 opening. The original London style was heritage grain led, with varieties such as Maris Otter and Plumage Archer used to create a spicy, characterful malt profile. McKay is clear that grain remains central. The spirit will taste of barley if handled correctly. Heavy finishing in intensely sweet casks can obscure that character, he says, and part of the whisky maker’s role is knowing when to step back.
McKay’s own path into the role was not linear. His background was in engineering and biomedical science communication before whisky took over. He founded The Dramble, an online whisky platform, then moved into communications for Bimber’s early releases, later taking on production responsibilities. He subsequently left Bimber.
The brief from Gleann Mòr was straightforward: steward what remains, reintroduce the brand carefully and build towards a future in which London once again has a working whisky distillery.
Matt McKay Managing Director, and Claire Filer, Brand Advocacy Manager, of the London Distillery Company
Ten Times Around the Sun anchors London within a maturing English whisky movement. The existence of a 10-year-old London single malt adds depth to a category that, not long ago, was defined by youth. There is something fitting about London reasserting itself in this way. The city trades on reinvention. Distilling in the capital is expensive, exposed to property cycles and planning constraints, and vulnerable to the commercial pressures that ended the second incarnation in 2020. Yet the idea persists. From Dodd’s 1807 scheme to the 2011 revival and now this third chapter under Gleann Mòr’s ownership, the story has been less a straight line than a series of attempts to prove that London can sustain serious whisky making.
A single cask of 220 bottles will not transform a category. But a decade of patient maturation, followed by a measured and transparent release, signals intent. If the next London distillery does open its doors in the coming years, Ten Times Around the Sun will stand as a bridge between what was attempted in Battersea and Bermondsey and what might be built next.
Ten Times Around the Sun is available now from £89.95
