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England’s ‘smallest’ whisky distillery to open
Plans to open England’s “smallest” whisky distillery in North Yorkshire have progressed after its planning application was given the green light.
Cooper King Distillery is thought to be England’s “smallest” distillery
Abbie Neilson and Chris Jaume are set to open Cooper King Distillery in the village of Sutton-on-the-forest, converting a stable block into a distillery, warehouse, tasting room and shop.
The couple will produce whisky using Yorkshire barley and casks made in Wetherby by master cooper Alistair Simms.
The distillery will use a 900-litre copper pot still and will begin production this summer. The duo aim to have the first batch of whisky available to the public in 2020.
Funds have been raised partly through crowdfunding project, the Cooper King Distillery Founders Club, and from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and the European Regional Development Fund.
Neilson who studied a PHD in biomedical science at Leeds University and Jaume, an architect working in Leeds, were inspired after travelling in Australia.
The couple headed back to their hometown of York, England at the start of 2016, to start work on their distillery.
Earlier this month, plans to build the tallest distillery in the British Isles came under fire, with local residents in the English county of Devon claiming the design is “too Scottish”.