DRAM QUEEN

A whisky trail... in England. Rob Ainsley rides through wold and dale to visit Yorkshire's three new whisky distilleries

- ROB AINSLEY

Yorkshire can feel like a country - England's Scotland if you like. Same population (5.5 million); outstanding natural beauty; strong sense of identity. OK, unlike Scotland, with its 120 whisky distilleries, we have no‘national spirit'. But thanks to some unashamed cultural appropriation - we have the next best thing. After booms in microbreweries and artisan gin, whisky makers are turning up the heat, literally, in England and Wales. Now Yorkshire boasts three distilleries: Spirit of Yorkshire, Whittaker's, and Cooper King. Spirit of Yorkshire released the county's first whisky, Filey Bay, in 2019. The other two will sell their first bottles in 2024. Meanwhile, all are making gin because that takes weeks rather than years.

In the past, I've enjoyed combining trips with nips on Scotland's whisky trails - bike odysseys which visit choice distilleries amid thrilling scenery. No boozy pub-crawl ethos here; this is a different spirit. It's life richly savored, at a sipping pace, talking with friends in relaxed, thoughtful good humour. Well, now Yorkshire can rival those dramatic jaunts in Islay or Speyside. Here's our proposal: the Yorkshire Whisky Trail, from Pateley Bridge in Nidderdale to Filey on the East Yorkshire coast. We respectfully remind you to drink responsibly while doing it. By which we mean there are two vineyards and two breweries en route too, to ensure balance. The YWT is 100 easy miles in two days, overnighting at York halfway. Which, conveniently, is where I live.

Distilled ride