England’s ‘smallest’ whisky distillery debuts Founders’ Club

Cooper King Distillery – England’s ‘smallest’ whisky distillery – has opened entries to its Founders’ Club, which will offer members the chance to taste the distillery’s first expressions.

Cooper King Distillery will launch its Founders’ Club on 1 August

Abbie Neilson and Chris Jaume are set to open Cooper King Distillery in North Yorkshire, converting a stable block into a distillery, warehouse, tasting room and shop.

The Founders Club, which launches on 1 August, will reward members with first-release products, rare bottlings, distillery merchandise and a lifetime membership.

Production of its premium single malt whisky will begin in winter 2017, and will be ready by 2022. The distillery will open to members of the public soon after production.

The gin, to be flavoured with local botanicals, will be ready in autumn this year. It will be produced in micro-batches, with each bottle being filled, labelled and individually numbered by hand at the distillery.

Made using Yorkshire barley and inspired by Australia’s whisky connoisseur, Bill Lark, Cooper King Distillery will produce a 100 litre cask – 150 bottles – of whisky a month.

Cooper King is striving to be a green distillery, and will run on 100% green energy. A tree will also be planted for every membership sold to offset carbon emissions.

Cooper King Distillery is thought to be the first in Yorkshire to combine cold vacuum distillation with traditional hot copper-pot distillation in a process tailored to suit each individual botanical.

“England’s whisky industry is still in its infancy, with only fifteen craft distilleries across the UK,” said Jaume.

“The demand is growing, and we have the potential to be recognised world-wide as an exceptional whisky-producing region if we focus on flavour, terroir and experimentation.

“More young people are starting to drink whisky and they want something unique and fresh. Cooper King will be at the forefront of the micro-distilling industry.”