Filey Bay Moscatel Finish

Spirit of Yorkshire is Yorkshire's first ever single malt whisky distillery, located in Hunmanby, near Filey Bay on the Yorkshire Coast.

For Spirit of Yorkshire it is about doing things properly. That is why they're obsessed with every step of the distilling process, from grain to glass. Mentored by renowned whisky expert Dr. Jim Swan, their instinctive approach is to create a whisky that doesn't just replicate Scotch. This doesn't mean they rely on blind luck, they take the best of tradition and apply new thinking to create something unique.

All the barley used is grown in Hunmanby, on the family farm, and the water is taken from two sources, sunk deep into the chalk. The team is in control at every stage of the growing and distilling process, from choosing the variety of barley and how it is grown, right through to bottling on site at the distillery. Very few other distilleries in the UK can claim this.

Spirit of Yorkshire have invested in two of the largest Forsyth pot stills operating in the UK outside of Scotland. They also added a four-plate copper column into their process that works in tandem with the spirit still to add variance to the Spirit of Yorkshire distillery. This is all part of the commitment to combining tradition with new thinking to create something out of the ordinary. The stills were fired up for the first time in May 2016 and there are already thousands casks of various types being used, including sherry butts and bourbon casks, all of which will help create the subtle, complex flavours of the unique spirit.

FILEY BAY MOSCATEL FINISH.

Filey Bay Moscatel Finish is the distilleries first ever sherry-finished release. Distilled in 2016, this Single Malt was first matured in 200L bourbon casks (for around three years) before being 'finished' in 250L Hogshead barrels that had held Moscatel for ten years. By using bourbon casks first and a distillate that combines both pot and column styles, they have created a light whisky in the house-style, which has then slightly softened and taken on more wood spice and layers of fruit from the Moscatel barrels.

Moscatel is very unusual in the world of sherry-influenced whiskies, the naturally sweet character of the grapes, along with their floral aromas of orange blossom, jasmine and honeysuckle (with citric elements too) really complement the house-style.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Brown sugar and ripe tropical fruit, with tinned pineapple and nectarine, followed by white pepper and orange peel.

Palate: Candied orange and muscovado sugar, with baking spices, dusty cocoa and crisp apple, with a kick of ginger.

Finish: Dried banana and cooked pineapple, with toasty oak spice.