England’s first self-built distillery set to begin gin production

6 years ago

A boutique Yorkshire-based gin and whisky distillery is nearing completion, with 75% of the build finished and gin distillation set to begin early in the new year.

England’s first self-built whisky and gin distillery, Cooper King Distillery will commence production of its juniper-led gin and open its doors to members of the public early in the new year. The whisky distillation will follow in Spring 2018, with a predicted release date of 2023.

The unique, premium gin, flavoured with select local botanicals, will be produced in micro-batches using ten and five litre stills. Cooper King Distillery is the first distillery in Yorkshire to combine innovative cold vacuum distillation with traditional hot copper-pot distillation.

Established by co-founders Chris Jaume and Dr Abbie Neilson, Cooper King Distillery is based in Sutton-on-the-Forest in North Yorkshire, on the site of a former horse’s stable.

The distillery will invite local people and tourists to experience first-hand how gin and whisky is made, with a production area, cask maturation warehouse, tasting-room and spirit shop open to the public.

A team comprising of family, friends and Founders’ Club members are working together to ensure the build is completed within the next month.

With over 250 founding members already signed up to its Founders’ Club, Cooper King Distillery has called for both whisky and gin enthusiasts to help shape the future of the distillery by becoming part of the Cooper King Distillery community.

Commenting on the progress of the build, co-founder Chris Jaume said:

“We are delighted to have the distillery over 75% complete, having worked long and hard on the construction it is extremely exciting to be so close to beginning distillation. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that has helped with the construction, family, friends and founders, we really appreciate them helping to make our dream a reality.”

Founders’ Club member, whisky blogger Barry Bradford added:

“As a whisky blogger and enthusiast, I am looking forward to sampling Cooper King Distillery’s new spirits, as part of the Founders’ Club I’ll be amongst the first to get these opportunities and also know that I helped make them happen, surely nothing can taste sweeter than that?

“By being a Founders’ Club member, I get to make a small investment to help realise someone else’s dream”

To join The Founders Club, visit http://www.cooperkingdistillery.co.uk/founders-club.

Attached Media

About Cooper King Distillery

Located in the heart of Yorkshire, Cooper King Distillery is a self-built, family-owned gin and whisky distillery built on the site of a stable. Formed in 2016, by Dr Abbie Neilson, a former scientist and Chris Jaume, a chartered architect, Cooper King Distillery is independent, self-built and powered by 100% green energy. With a desire to leave the rat race, co-founders Chris and Abbie travelled across the globe, in search of sun, sand and adventure. Whilst visiting Australia the pair became fascinated by Tasmania’s eight operational whisky distilleries and the hand-crafted premium whisky industry, which was just starting to take off in this part of the world. With a mission to bring their discoveries back to Britain, Chris and Abbie set up a truly independent craft distillery back home in Sutton-on-the-Forest in North Yorkshire. Taught by Bill Lark, the godfather of Tasmanian whisky, and armed with a wealth of knowledge gathered from across Tasmania’s now internationally acclaimed New World whisky distilleries and beyond, Cooper King Distillery produces authentic premium spirits, using the highest quality ingredients that England has to offer. The distillery’s inaugural product, Cooper King Dry Gin was released in May 2018. Hand distilled using honey from the distillery’s beehives, lemongrass and a touch of locally-grown lavender, the gin has incredible savoury lemongrass flavours, a silky mouthfeel and delicate floral notes. Produced in micro-batches, Cooper King is the first distillery in Yorkshire to combine innovative cold vacuum distillation with traditional hot copper-pot distillation, in a process that’s tailored to suit each individual botanical, ensuring they extract the freshest, fullest flavours. The initial reviews of Cooper King Dry Gin are extremely positive, with The Gin Fayre describing it as a ‘game changer’. The company is the first distillery in Europe to join international environment initiative, 1% for the Planet, which sees 1% of sales of Cooper King Dry Gin contributed towards environmental non-profits. Cooper King Distillery will plant one square metre of native woodland for every bottle sold through a partnership with the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. Its initial batch of premium single malt whisky, made using Yorkshire barley, is scheduled to go into production in summer 2018, with a projected release date of 2023. Inspired by Chris’s great-great-grandfather, Charles Cooper King, the name Cooper King has rich historical ties to England and Yorkshire. Born in 1843, Charles, who was Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Marine Artillery, traced the Cooper King family history back to 1030, where he identified the Pigot family of Yorkshire, whose shield can still be seen today throughout Ripon Cathedral. The Cooper King Distillery Founders’ Club is offering craft spirit lovers a unique opportunity to become part of the Cooper King family and help make English distilling history. Membership tiers start from £30, which is ideal for a gift, through to more established memberships which include a name engraving on the Founders’ Plaque in the distillery. Memberships also offer first access to rare and collectable whisky in the form of new, special, and small-batch releases, individually-numbered single cask releases from their early casks, plus the chance to own Cooper King Distillery’s Inaugural Release bottle #1. To find out more about Cooper King Distillery, visit http://www.cooperkingdistillery.co.uk/