Yorkshire's first whisky distillery shortlisted in regional Rural Business Awards final

A North Yorkshire business has been named as one of the best in the North by the Rural Business Awards.

Hunmanby based Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery has been shortlisted in the Best Rural Start Upcategory of the Rural Business Awards 2018/19.

The two year old business was required todemonstrate the journey that co-founders David Thompson and Tom Mellor are taking towards establishing a business that is excelling in its chosen market and backed this up with examples of clear strategy, an understanding of the marketplace, growth and financial performance.

The pair also had to illustrate how they havecreated the foundations for continued commercial success.

Of the shortlist, David Thompson said: "Unlike most start-up businesses, we have to wait three years for our spirit to mature before we can market it as whisky, so we have had to find other ways, like tours, events and a destination coffee shop, to grow the business."

Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery has been shortlisted alongside four other start-up businesses, including East Yorkshire business Field and Forage, from the North region that extends from Scotland to South Yorkshire. The regional winners will be announced at a ceremony at The Last Drop Village, Bolton on 9^thOctober and will go forward to a national final in February, 2019.

TheRural Business Awards, run in partnership with Amazon, honour the best in British countryside enterprise.

Spirit of Yorkshire was launched in 2016 and is a collaboration between farmer and brewer, Tom Mellor from Wold Top Brewery and business partner, David Thompson. The pair have invested significantly to follow their dream of creating a Yorkshire whisky that doesn't simply replicate Scotch. The distillery is a true field to bottle setup and boasts some of the most impressive distilling equipment in the country, includingtwo of the largest Forsyth pot stills operating in the UK outside of Scotland. It is thought to be the only distillery operating in the UK that grows all of its own barley for its whisky production.

In addition to distilling whisky and conducting guided tours, Spirit of Yorkshire is home to the Pot Still Coffee Shop that serves a variety of home cooked, locally sourced food and hosts regular events including fortnightly Jazz and Blues nights, monthly Distillery Sessions and special events. Forthcoming events include Distillery Sessions with The Mile Roses on 29^thJune and a ‘Pot Still Pop Up'whisky-inspired three course mealfrom Birds on the Loose on 11^thOctober.

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Photo:Some of the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery team - L to R, Joe Clark, Tom Mellor and David Thompson

Notes to editors

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

Notes to editors

1. For more information about Spirit of Yorkshire, please visit https://www.spiritofyorkshire.com
2. For more information about the Rural Business Awards, please visit https://www.ruralbusinessawards.co.uk/north/

3. The Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery and Pot Still Coffee Shop are open 7 days a week; 9.30am-5pm, Monday-Saturday and 10am-3pm on a Sunday. Distillery tours run daily all year round at the following times...Monday-Saturday; 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. Sunday; 12pm and 2pm. Booking is advisable by calling 01723 891758.
4. For more information about the fortnightly Jazz and Blues and the monthly distillery sessions, please visit  https://www.spiritofyorkshire.com/distillery-events-i12
5. In February 2018, Spirit of Yorkshire won VisitEngland Welcome Award in the Attractions Accolades in appreciation of the outstanding experiences they have provided since they opened their visitor attraction in April 2017. They also won the Best Tourism & Hospitality Business at the Bridlington and Yorkshire Coast Chamber Awards in October 2017.
6. Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery's Maturing Malt, DP002, has been shortlisted in the delicious. magazine's 2018 Produce Awards.
7. The Spirit of Yorkshire's logo depicts a gannet. The team at Spirit of Yorkshire identifies with the fearless, graceful and purposeful birds that have prospered at nearby Bempton Cliffs for many years. In the same way that the gannets have a homing instinct, wherever the team roam to explore new ideas, they will always return to where Yorkshire's first whisky was born.