The Spirit of Yorkshire

Harvest at Hunmanby Grange in the 1940s/50s. An open cab tractor pulls along an early style combine. Very different from present day combines! 28/08/2019

Growing: Harvest

Growing: Harvest August means one thing for farmers: harvest. The culmination of a year of growing. Here on our farm at Hunmanby Grange, harvest began little later than most, as all our crops this year are ‘spring’ varieties, meaning that they’re not planted until the spring.  A bit of background The word ‘harvest’ comes from the Old English haerf-est which meant ‘autumn’ and/or ‘august’ and signified the period in the calendar when the crops had reached maturity and were ready to be gathered in. The main principles behind the harvesting... Read More

Guided tastings by distiller Dom 24/08/2019

Enjoying: Open Day 2019

We had a brilliant time at our Open Day on the 10th August. We loved seeing you all and showing you round the distillery. The Masterclasses worked really well (That coffee! That fish! That chocolate!) and it was great to see how much enthusiasm and positivity there is about what we’re doing here in Hunmanby. See you again next year! 

Living: Countryfile Live

For obvious reasons, we’re big fans of Countryfile here at the Spirit of Yorkshire. And we know that we’re not alone. This week, only Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Poldark had more people watching than Countryfile, a programme dedicated to rural areas – incredible!  Earlier this year, we were really pleased to hear that a northern Countryfile Live was coming to Castle Howard, near Malton, about 30 minutes drive from the distillery. And we were even more pleased when Spirit of Yorkshire and the Wold Top Brewery were asked by the Rural... Read More

Growing: Collaborations

As an area, Yorkshire definitely ‘over indexes’ on incredible food producers, doing really interesting and exciting things. Some of these are world famous and household names but some are much smaller, founder-run businesses who excel in one area. It’s this mix that we think makes the food and drink of the county so special. Over the past few years, we’ve been partnering and collaborating with some of, we think, the best producers in the area, developing new products that fuse our spirit with their foods – ‘growing’ but from a... Read More

Great food and tough questions at the Spirit of Yorkshire Quiz Night 25/07/2019

Enjoying: ‘Never Mind the Hogsheads’ July Quiz Night

Last Friday, the distillery turned into a hotbed of knowledge as teams competed to win the Spirit of Yorkshire quiz night. Chrissie’s questions brilliantly combined the high and the low, testing everyone’s knowledge of whisky, history, Disney and ketchup (!), with a lot of laughs and a very close scoreline at the end. We’ll be planning our next one for the autumn so keep an eye out for dates and begin assembling your best and brightest team… 

Living: ‘Lates’ at Bradford Science and Media Museum

Joe and Libby headed way out west last week to Bradford Science and Media Museum for their ‘Lates’ evening on Thursday. ‘Lates’ at the museum happen four times a year and are adults-only events, always with a range of interesting and often unusual guests. We were really pleased to be invited as a guest at the latest ‘Lates’ and blown away by everyone’s enthusiasm and excitement about what we’re doing here at the Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery. Lots of questions, tastings and interest – thank you to the museum for having... Read More

Growing: Water

Whisky can’t be made without water, so this month we’re looking at the clear liquid, rather than the amber one. Earlier this month, we came across this article in The Guardian discussing the impact of weather on water in Scotland. Anyone who’s ever spent any time in Scotland will know that drought isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Scottish weather. But last year it had a negative impact on some distilleries, when their water sources weren’t able to support their needs.  Along with barley, water... Read More

York - Spirit of Yorkshire's Favourite Yorkshire place 29/06/2019

Living: Favourite Yorkshire places – York

It sounds like a no-brainer, that one of the best places in Yorkshire is the county town, but there’s so much more to York than just its name. Not withstanding the hundreds pubs, there are lots of brilliant coffee shops, independent stores and of course, historical buildings and sites. Though arguably, one of the nicest things to do on a sunny day is to walk along the river, from Rowntree Park, to Homestead, taking in the Minster as you go.

Enjoying: Taking the Train part 2

At the beginning of May, we had a blog post matching Hunmanby train services with the times of our tours; the timetable’s since changed so here’s the update. There are so many reasons why it’s a good idea to take the train to the distillery to come see us – it means everyone can try the drams after the tour with no need for a designated driver; it’s nice to not have to drive and worry about sitting in traffic in and out of Scarborough (we’ve all been stuck on Filey... Read More

Cask 1944, Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery 06/06/2019

Living: 1944 cask for Yorkshire Regiment officers

75 years ago today (6th June 1944) marks what was, many would say, the major turning point of World War Two. Allied forces landed on 5 beaches across the northern coast of France, and the course of the war changed significantly. Two regiments from Yorkshire were crucial to the assault on ‘Gold’ beach – the Green Howards, and the East Yorkshire regiment. In fact, the only Victoria Cross awarded to the D Day campaign went to Company Sergeant Major Stanley Hollis, from 6th Battalion Green Howards. Given that Winston Churchill described... Read More