Spirit of Yorkshire is the distillery that finally gave Yorkshire its own single malt. Founded by Tom Mellor and David Thompson on Mellor's family farm at Hunmanby, just inland from the cliffs of Filey Bay, it is one of the very few distilleries in the world that grows its own barley on site. The grain is malted nearby, distilled at the farm, and bottled under the Filey Bay name in honour of the wide North Sea bay that lies just over the brow of the hill.
Filey Bay Flagship is the distillery's core expression — a single malt matured in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and shaved-toasted-recharred (STR) red wine casks, bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration. That cask combination is the signature: the bourbon brings vanilla and biscuit, the STR brings a gentle berried warmth, and the underlying spirit has the bright, clean character of single-estate barley.
For an English single malt at this price, it offers an unusual sense of provenance. You can taste the field as much as the cask, and the distillery's coastal setting lends a faint but unmistakable salinity that distinguishes it from inland English peers.
A confident flagship — Yorkshire grain, Yorkshire patience, Yorkshire pride in a glass.
