The Spirit of Yorkshire distillery have released Filey Bay Nurture and is a permanent exclusive to the Waitrose supermarket chain. This makes the Yorkshire distillery just the second English single malt to be listed in a major UK supermarket. Cotswolds is the other. The whisky is the first in The Regenerative Editions, which will explore the role of the regenerative farming technique in whisky making. It tells the deeper story of how and why they farm for whisky in the way that they do.
The Spirit of Yorkshire distillery is the brainchild of Tom Mellor and David Thompson. It is in the village of Hunmanby, between the towns of Bridlington and Filey in Yorkshire. It was the first single malt distillery to ever be registered in the county and gives a true ‘field to bottle’ offering. The single malt range is named after the nearby beauty spot of Filey Bay.
They grow all barley needed for whisky production on a nearby farm, which is owned by Mellor, before producing, maturing and bottling all spirit on site. The milling, mashing and fermentation parts of the process take place at the Top Wold brewery. This is also owned by Mellor, which is a couple of miles from the distillery. Distillation began in Spring 2016 and current production sits at just over 100,000 litres per year.
Filey Bay Nurture is a marriage of ex-bourbon and ex-red wine casks, and features 100% homegrown barley from the owner’s farm, and uses farm-sourced water. The new whisky will be an ongoing product and is bottled at 46.5% ABV. It is available now from selected Waitrose stores throughout the UK, Jersey and Guernsey and online at www.waitrose.com. A bottle will cost £60.
Our Tasting Notes
The colour is a bright golden yellow and the nose is fresh, vibrant and uplifting. Early aromas of red apple, crisp green pear and runny honey are joined by some vanilla essence, and white chocolate. Underneath sits a distinct malted barley aroma, that becomes more biscuity with time, and some white peach. Hints of tropical bubblegum, sweet strawberry jam and icing sugar are also detected.
On the palate this whisky is bright, refreshing and expressive. It feels luscious and creamy up front with notes of good vanilla ice cream, white chocolate and heather honey leading the way. Then crisp green apple and pear with a hint of ripe peaches and apricots. A malty and biscuity character sits underneath and is reminiscent freshly baked oatmeal cookies with a pinch of cocoa powder.
The second half exhibits milk chocolate alongside some fresh green herbs (especially tarragon) and a gentle floral nature. This is reminsicent of cherry blossom. A hint of pink bubblegum and marshmallow are also evident, and the tart green apple puts in another appearance. Finally comes drying freshly sawn oak and prickly white pepper heat.
The finish is quite drying and zingy. The oaky and woody characteristics combine with tart green apple and a hint of lemon zest. The malty biscuit note is never far away and holds the structure well. A late bit of peppery heat warms things up and the increasingly tannic oak adds a distinct woody dryness.
What’s The Verdict?
Nurture really delightfully fresh and vibrant style of whisky with enough complexity and depth to hold the interest. It would be a great introduction to English whisky and it will be interesting to see how it performs in Waitrose. It is als great to see English whisky appearing in more UK supermarkets and the exposure that leads to. Hopefully more of the best will make it to others soon.
We have long been fans of what Spirit of Yorkshire are doing with Filey Bay. However, we have also become fans of the regenerative farming story. We love it and are trying to implement some aspects of this on our allotment and small yard in north London. It will also be interesting to see what follows Nurture in the Regenerative Editions series.
