Yorkshire's first malt whisky distillery wins prestigious VisitEngland accolade within months of opening
The team at Yorkshire's first malt whisky distillery is celebrating after winning a coveted VisitEngland award just ten months after opening to the public.
Hunmanby based Spirit of Yorkshire was awarded a Welcome Award in theAttractions Accolades in appreciation of the outstanding experiences they have provided since they opened their visitor attraction in April 2017.
Of the win, Spirit of Yorkshire Director and Co-Founder, David Thompson said: "We are delighted to win this award, especially when you consider that we're such a young business.
"It's testament to our great team that we were the only business in North Yorkshire to win a Welcome Award and one of only 86 businesses nationwide to win one of the five Attractions Accolades in our first year.
"We aspire to put Yorkshire on the UK malt whisky making map and this win stands us in good stead to build on our visitor offering that includes whisky tours and tastings, The Pot Still Café, events, music nights and distilling experiences."
Designed to celebrate excellence within the visitor attraction sector, VisitEngland's Accolades showcase those businesses that go the extra mile to provide a high quality day out, whether through a warm welcome, an engaging story, a delicious lunch or the overall visitor experience.
Spirit of Yorkshire was launched in 2016 and is a collaboration between farmer and brewer, Tom Mellor from Wold Top Brewery and his entrepreneur friend, David Thompson. The pair have invested significantly to follow their dream of creating a Yorkshire whisky that doesn't simply replicate Scotch.
Early signs of their success include selling out of theirfirst Maturing Malt 001 in only four weeks, glowing feedback from industry professionals and healthy visitor numbers. The maturing malt gives a flavour of what the first malt whisky will taste like when it is bottled in 2019. Maturing Malt 002 will be released in March and is expected to sell out more quickly than its predecessor as the maturing malt becomes ever closer to the date that it can be called a malt whisky.
Spirit of Yorkshire also won the Best Tourism & Hospitality Business at the Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Chamber Awards in October 2017.
Forthcoming events at the Pot Still Café at The Spirit of Yorkshire include weekly Jazz and Blues nights and a ‘Pot Still Pop Up' from Birds on the Loose on 19thApril. Spirit of Yorkshire will also be the Toast Sponsor for theBusinessDesk's Business Masters 2018 Yorkshire Awards on 26thApril.
As the national tourism agency - a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), VisitEngland plays a unique role in building England's tourism product, raising Britain's profile worldwide, increasing the volume and value of tourism exports and developing England and Britain's visitor economy.
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Photograph caption:David Thompson, Director and Co-Founder of Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery David Thompson from Spirit of Yorkshire
For more information or to arrange an interview with David Thompson or Tom Mellor, please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on;
Direct line:01430 871360
Mobile:07971 961574
E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk
Web:www.three60marketing.co.uk
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