The Spirit of Yorkshire

Cover crops on trial acres at the Spirit of Yorkshire Farm 28/02/2020

Growing: Direct Drilling

Field to bottle isn’t just a phrase we use. As one of the few distilleries around the world who farm all the barley they use in their whisky, we not only get to choose which varieties we grow, we also determine how we grow it. This is really important to us and something that our co-founders know and care a lot about. Tom has lived on the farm for his whole life and has been farming (or working on the farm) since he was young. David’s area of expertise is... Read More

Wind Turbines at the Spirit of Yorkshire Farm 25/02/2020

Growing: Wind Power

Co-founder Tom has long been an advocate of wind power – he first put in an application for a wind turbine in the early 90s but the farm’s proximity to an RAF base meant that it wasn’t feasible to have one then.  Tom kept researching the prospect though and in the late 2000s, T1 and T2 were installed. Between them, they generate 400,000 kw electricity a year and whenever the wind is blowing, they are in motion. When they’re moving, they provide all of the power needed for the farm, brewery... Read More

Filey Bay Second Release 24/02/2020

Living: ‘The Country Gent’ Podcast

Last week, Joe joined Nick and Rob from ‘The Country Gent’ podcast for a chat and tasting of Filey Bay Second Release, at the Rose and Crown on Lawrence Street in York.  It’s a detailed session, really drilling down into the specifics of our whisky and our production process, as well as the reasons for starting the distillery, how we work alongside the Wold Top Brewery, and the ethos behind the business. So pour yourself a dram of Filey Bay, then settle down inside and listen here, from around 35... Read More

Chrissie takes a tour around the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery 30/01/2020

Enjoying: Taking the Train Part 3

The train timetables have been updated for 2020 so here are the revised ‘best trains’ to take from Scarborough and Bridlington if you’re visiting us for a tour. From Hunmanby station, go left as you leave the platform (on either side) and walk up the hill. The distillery is on your left after about 5 minutes walk.  Don’t forget – if you show a valid ticket when you come for your distillery tour, we’ll give you a free hot or cold drink and a biscuit. Or if there are four... Read More

Full house for Burns Night 2020 at the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery 30/01/2020

Enjoying: Burns Night 2020

Last week we sold out the coffee shop for an evening celebrating the poetic works (and love of whisky) of Robert Burns, arguably Scotland’s most famous poet.  Libby, Joe, Claire and the team put on a brilliant show of cask samples, poetry and giant Yorkshire puddings (which Claire had been making them for weeks in advance!) alongside the expected haggis, neeps and tatties.  Next up we have Valentine’s Day with a difference – an evening pairing whisky and chocolate (from Bullion in Sheffield). We can’t wait! 

Presenting Filey Bay First Release Bottle No. 1 from the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery 13/01/2020

Distilling: Bottle No. 1

Bottle No. 1 from any distillery is always very special. Some distilleries auction them off, some keep hold of them, some are probably much too old to remember their first bottle!  We decided to run a competition for ours. Purchasing a limited edition and entering the special code within entered you into the draw to win the first ever bottle from Yorkshire’s first ever distillery. We had hundreds of entries and in mid-November we drew the winning name using a random number generator.  The winner was John, from a village... Read More

The top of the Filey Bay Whisky bottle, saying 'Field to Bottle' 02/01/2020

Enjoying: Filey Bay Stockists

We’re often being asked by those a bit further afield about where you can buy Filey Bay around the country.  Our ‘stockists’ list is now live on the website! Just head here to see where you can get your Filey Bay bottles / drams if you’re not local to the Yorkshire Coast and would rather have the bottle there and then, rather than buying online.

The Filey Bay Whisky Carton, from the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery 01/01/2020

Enjoying: Looking ahead to 2020

We have all sorts of interesting and exciting things in plan for this year, from single malt releases to new clothing in the distillery shop, to great music lined up for our monthly Distillery Sessions. To stay on board with us and hear about what’s happening at the distillery first, please sign up to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/2HriUOD.

The Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery Team 24/12/2019

Living: The Year that Was

We’ve just passed cask 2000, filled last week by our distiller Dom, Whisky Director Joe, and Co-Founder David. It’s now sitting comfortably in the warehouse, not to be seen again for a while. It felt like a really good way to round off a busy year… We started 2019 as a fledgling distillery and we end it as whisky-makers. Three years of waiting came to pass in June, meaning that we really and truly had Yorkshire’s first whisky in our warehouse. Then somehow it was the autumn and we were... Read More

Map of Filey Bay from inside the whisky carton 22/11/2019

Focus on: naming our whisky

In this month’s ‘Focus on’ we’ll be talking you through how we got to our name: Filey Bay.   One of the best things about working for a small company is that it’s personal. Every member of staff (and their families!) is so closely connected to the business that everyone has thoughts and ideas. This is great, especially for things like names. What to call the whisky had been up for debate for years. We went back and forth about whether to use the distillery name as the lead (as... Read More