This week I hosted an English Whisky event in Parliament, showcasing whisky from North Yorkshire to Copeland and Northumberland to Shropshire. As many constituents know, we have three fantastic English Whisky distilleries right here in Thirsk and Malton employing over 100 people: Cooper King Distillery, Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery and Ellers Farm Distillery. We also have Whiskyside, an online shop and dedicated whisky bar in Hunmanby. These businesses were the inspiration behind holding such an event, as well as my ministerial role covering small businesses such as these.
Approximately 50,000 casks of English whisky are expected to be laid down by distilleries by the end of 2024 and the value of this maturing stock is forecast to exceed £1bn over the same period. This growing industry has a hugely exciting future ahead, not just in North Yorkshire but both nationally and internationally. The event was hugely successful and included parliamentarians, representatives from business, trade and export departments in Government as well as key stakeholders in the industry.
Thank you to all the distilleries who attended from other constituencies: White Peak Distillery, Bimber Distillery, Whittaker's Whisky, Henstone Distillery, Ludlow Distillery, Ad Gefrin, Copper Rivet Distillery, Cotswolds Distillery, The Lakes Distillery, The English Distillery, Retribution Distilling, Elsham Wold Distillery, West Midlands Distillery, Spirit of Manchester Distillery, The Oxford Artisan Distillery and the Spirit of Birmingham Distillery.
The event was kindly supported by and could not have happened without the English Whisky Guild and Exploring English Whisky.
