MEMORIES OF 2019
What are your memories of 2019? I was happily converting my campervan, and it was a busy year at the distillery. We were producing whisky day and night. The team was getting bigger. We had more hands to clean fermenters and spray the cooked porridge from the copper walls inside the stills. I spent the summer in Portugal, establishing relationships with cask suppliers; exploring chestnut, oak and a range of wine casks to experiment with. It was a great year for forward momentum. In 2019, we received a wide range of barrels so we could study the combination of casks with our spirits and understand the perfect matches for our grains.
MAKING WHISKY
In 2019, we were in a phase in our farming where we were growing only rye and wheat populations. We weren’t growing maslin - mixed plantings of rye and wheat together - which we’d focused on before. Harvest 2019 Rye Whisky is the result of two grain recipes distilled that year: our classical one - 70% rye, 20% wheat and 10% malted barley, and another recipe focusing on rye - 100% rye (75% raw rye and 25% malted rye) -quite spicy! It’s part of what makes Harvest 2019 unique, as we later switched back to growing maslin: we realised that the mixed planting of heritage rye and wheat delivered the biggest increase in diversity in the field.
GROWING GRAINS
Growing grain in England can be quite fun, but also desperate. I feel like any farmer I meet has a natural patience; always looking on the bright side of life. They have a quiet resilience - seeking positivity and beauty in whatever nature presents. Grain too is resilient. As it grows, it reacts to the growing conditions - rain levels, temperatures, sunlight hours, soil health to name just a few. So at harvest, we always get variable yields and grain that varies in quality against a whole host of parameters. Some are high in starch, others in certain proteins. These variations directly impact the whisky-making process, but there are so many other variables with deliciously influential potential.
THE SUMMER OF 2019
No two years are the same, but I can tell you that 2024 is already reminding me of 2019 - wet and not particularly warm. Weeks of summer heat when it should be spring, weeks of April showers in July. The summer of 2019 was not particularly sunny, there were heavy downpours, especially around harvest time. Average to high rainfall delayed the harvest slightly, which meant the grain was left to grow for a slightly longer period. In some areas of the country the grain didn’t reach the desired moisture level for harvest. That grain had to be dried post-harvest, an expensive and time-consuming process for the farmers. A wet summer and a delayed harvest can also lead to a decrease in the average percentage of protein in grain. This impacts every step of how the grain is processed through the distillery; from malting, mashing, to fermentation and even distillation.
However, having a good or bad grain growing year doesn’t necessarily impact the quality of a whisky for better or worse. Despite the heat spikes throughout the year and the mild wet summer and harvest season, there was no major disease appearance in 2019. This allowed a higher yielding grain harvest compared with the previous year, and the UK average. The rye we harvested in 2019 was brighter and more delicate than previous years. It's made a whisky that tastes of early summer: fresh, floral and full of flavour.
THE RELEASE - HARVEST 2019 RYE WHISKY
From the 2019 harvest, we have produced a spectacular and refined whisky. We grew grain at 5 different farms, mainly around Oxford but also in Norfolk. Our Harvest 2019 release is the result of the combination of the two grain recipes we grew that year - our classical mix, and 100% rye. The classical mix brings more nutty and pastry character while the 100% rye is lighter, with a hint of caramel and chocolate and tonnes of spice. It has a delicate balance between the herbal and spicy character of rye, reminiscent of absinthe with intricate notes of wormwood and anise. An inviting floral and sweet character welcomes us with fresh ginger and summer fruits and finally wraps up with a savoury brioche bun and thyme.
Harvest 2019 is a refreshing whisky with all of our rye character just in time to enjoy summer and celebrate harvest season.
Whiskymaker
