Abingdon Distillery's Inaugural Release: England's Newest Single Malt

Abingdon Distillery has been making gin and rum in Oxfordshire since 2018, and now its first single malt whisky has finally arrived too! It has spent just over three years in a marriage of ex-bourbon casks and red wine casks from the legendary Château Margaux, a First Growth Bordeaux wine estate, and the quality of that pairing shows beautifully in the glass.

About Abingdon Distillery

Abingdon Distillery was founded in 2018 by a Head Distiller, Jordan Morris, who started out distilling gin while working in Hong Kong, frustrated by the lack of quality options available, before bringing the idea home to Oxfordshire. The distillery now operates from Coxeter House, a historic building in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames, one of England's oldest towns. Gin and rum are made on two handmade Portuguese copper stills; this whisky came off a custom 650-litre still built specifically for the job, nicknamed Big Phil. For this release, the distillery used 100% English barley, floor-malted by hand at Warminster Maltings, fermented for eight days in open wooden washbacks using two yeast strains, then matured on site for just over three years.

In the distillery's own words: "We started this whisky project four years ago, and today we send it out into the world for everyone to enjoy. This is an incredibly proud moment, both personally and for the distillery."

What's in the glass?

The ex-bourbon casks have brought vanilla and structure, while the red wine casks have added a darker, richer fruit character and a touch of tannin, giving the whisky more weight than its three years might suggest. On the nose, expect dark chocolate, stewed plums, black cherry and honey. The palate turns sweeter still, with tart raspberry, malted milk biscuits and vanilla, before a medium finish carries the red wine cask's dark fruit alongside a biscuity malt sweetness. Bottled at 42.5% Alc. In our view, this is a fruitier, richer style than most debut releases we see from new English distilleries, and the red wine cask gives it real depth for a spirit this young.

Who is this for?

This suits drinkers who lean towards a fruit-forward, dessert-style whisky, closer to a sherry-matured dram than a classic bourbon-cask single malt. It is also one for anyone who likes to get in early on a new distillery: this is Abingdon's first whisky release, and only 500 bottles were made.

Buy Abingdon Distillery Single Malt, Inaugural Release

Getting to taste a distillery's first whisky release doesn't happen often, and this one makes a strong case for keeping an eye on Abingdon going forward.

Explore more from Abingdon Distillery

This inaugural release is the first whisky from Abingdon Distillery, and it will not be the last. Browse the full Abingdon Distillery range.

Alex Murray DipWSET

Founder, Digital Distiller

Alex spent more than a decade working at leading wine and spirit merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd and Waitrose Cellar before founding Digital Distiller, the UK's specialist English spirits retailer. He holds the WSET Diploma (DipWSET), one of the highest academic qualifications available in the wine and spirits industry.

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