Lancashire could be the new Speyside. And Blackpool the new Islay.
Following its Rye Rebellion and Sweet Mash, the Bankhall distillery, which opened on the west Lancashire coast in 2019, has released its first English malt whisky.
Says master distiller, Vince Oleson : “This three-year-old English single malt was the first spirit to flow through our budding distillery back in April of 2020. It’s an expression that’s bold from the punch of the barrel and balanced from our elegant triple pot distilled creamy new make, and we’re extremely happy with the result.”
The young whisky is a single-barrel expression that has been matured in level four charred new American oak casks.
It has been bottled at cask strength of 57.7%, and is said to boast flavours of orange marmalade, vanilla bean, cinnamon, marzipan and toasted oak.
Oleson added: “With just 235 bottles of this limited release launching into the market, we don’t anticipate it’ll be around for long, but it certainly marks the beginning of a massively exciting new stage of the journey for our Bankhall English whisky”.
Oleson used to work as head distiller of the the Widow Jane Distillery in Brooklyn, New York. He is originally from Arizona.
Then he relocated to the famous seaside resort named after a historic drainage channel that released discoloured water into the Irish Sea. Now he is challenging whisky expectations by making the first Blackpudlian or Sangrownian whisky.
The original Bankhall distillery , which closed down between the wars , was in Liverpool. There were originally five English whisky distilleries in the area. “The distillery has a youthful atmosphere and bourbon-style whiskey has a younger profile than Scotch,” says Oleson.
“Younger people are more likely to drink bourbon and to mix it, whereas there is a reluctance to use single malts for mixing. So it is a fun drink. We call it Kentucky by the sea, but we are serious about the product. Blackpool is a perfect place to craft our whiskey. Sea air, irreverent energy and raw spirit.
“I’m a spiritual New Yorker so the idea of Blackpool as the Coney Island of the UK was rather appealing! It makes a great launchpad for our adventures in distilling. We like to change the conversation about English whisky from being so ridiculously single malt focussed.”
His bourbon-style, high rye sweet mash is aged exclusively in new, charred American oak casks.