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31.
March
2020.
Yorkshire single malt whisky distillery launches first ‘sherry finished’ release

Yorkshire single malt whisky distillery launches its first ‘sherry finished' release

 

North Yorkshire based Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery have launched their first ‘sherry finished' release and are taking orders for Filey Bay Moscatel Finish, that will be fulfilled once the current lock down period ends.

 

Of the launch, Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery Co-Founder David Thompson said: "We're in strange times at the moment. We've been planning this release since autumn last year. We wanted to continue with the launch, but we've evolved our plan so that it's available to pre-order now and will be delivered, with free delivery to UK mainland, once it's safe to do so."

 

"This field to bottle single malt was initially matured in 200L bourbon casks that were filled in 2016, before being transferred to 250L Hogshead barrels from Spain that had held Moscatel floral and aromatic naturally sweet sherry wine for 10 years prior to this.
 

"The use of bourbon casks followed by Moscatel barrels to finish creates a really interesting flavourful whisky. It's still light and soft like Filey Bay First and Second Releases, but with more layers of fruit and sweet spices."

 

"Whilst sherries like Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso are well known in single malt whisky maturation, Moscatel is much rarer and more unusual. Moscatel grapes are known for floral aromas of orange blossom, jasmine and honeysuckle as well as citric notes like lime and grapefruit. The grapes thrive in sandy soil and Moscatel vineyards are close to the beaches in the sherry region of Spain - making it a perfect match for our Filey Bay whisky, made here on the Yorkshire Coast."

 

Spirit of Yorkshire's Whisky Director, Joe Clark is delighted with the flavour profile of Filey Bay Moscatel Finish, 46%ABV: "Filey Bay Moscatel Finish is soft, spicy and warming with notes of honeycomb, orange marmalade, dried fruits and cocoa. By using bourbon casks first and combining both our pot and column spirit styles, we created a light whisky in our house-style, which has then softened further and taken on more wood spice and layers of fruit from the Moscatel barrels.

 

"The process of re-racking spirit is very labour intensive for us and requires extra steps of cask selection along with additional rounds of sensory work. Essentially, we're doing everything that we would do normally, but twice over. We also reduced the strength of the three year old bourbon cask whisky to 50% before re-racking it, to help make for a softer, sweeter whisky. This took a long time and presented some practical and logistical challenges. It has been a big undertaking for us, but we hope that you agree that the end result is worth it. The extra effort was all in the pursuit of making interesting, flavourful and delicious whisky, so time and energy well spent."

 

 

Filey Bay Moscatel Finish is limited to 6,000 70cl bottles and costs £60. It is available to pre-order from spiritofyorkshire.com and orders will be fulfilled when it is safe to do so.

 

Spirit of Yorkshire launched Yorkshire's first single malt whisky, Filey Bay First Release in October 2019. It sold out within three months and Filey Bay Second Release was launched in January 2020.

 

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.

 

Ends

 

Photograph captions:

Co-founder David Thompson with Filey Bay Moscatel Finish David Thompson with Filey Bay Moscatel Finish

Filey Bay Moscatel Finish Filey Bay Moscatel Finish bottle and box

                                                                                                        

For more information or to arrange an interview with David Thompson, Joe Clark 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

 

For more information about Spirit of Yorkshire, please visit https://www.spiritofyorkshire.com/

Moscatel is not as well-known as other sherries/fortified wines like PX, Oloroso, Fino etc.
Moscatel wine is produced from the grape of the same name in either fresh form or sun-dried form until it develops an intense raisining of the fruit. In the latter case pressing produces an extraordinary concentration of sugars and a certain level of coloration. Now with musts made from fresh or sunned grapes, the fermentation is stopped with the addition of wine alcohol. For more information, please visit https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/naturally-sweet/moscatel