Celebrate the spirit of Yorkshire

Yorkshire is clearly not only God’s own county but rightly has its eyes on the title of the food and drink capital of the UK!

With a plethora of award winning restaurants as well as food and drink producers, here at TheBusinessDesk.com we decided for 2022 we want to highlight some of them.

So the first category we’ll be tackling is spirits. From vodka to rum and whisky to tequila, and not forgetting the abundance of Yorkshire gins, the county is clearly competing on the global drinks stage so here are five brands and products we either like or are excited to sample this year.

1) Gin

It’s hard to have a list of Yorkshire produced tipples and not mention gin. With an abundance of distilleries to choose from many of which TheBusinessDesk.com are fans of, we’ve selected just three, The first is the consistently award winning York Gin which really taps into the history of the spirit and produces a Navy strength product called Outlaw that’s great with a tonic or sipped straight up like a whiskey.

Next up is the Harrogate-based Slingsby, which again offers a range of fantastic gins but at TheBusinessDesk.com both current and previous editorial staff have been known to enjoy a Rhubarb gin, particularly when served with Champagne or Prosecco to create a Rhubarb Rossini!

Finally we can’t ignore Cooper King distillery which is also from York and is aiming to pioneer sustainability within the industry and created England’s first carbon negative gin.

 

2) Whisky
Sometimes thought of as liquid gold, whisky is synonymous with certain parts of the UK but not necessarily Yorkshire. This however hasn’t stopped our region’s producers from turning their hand to it, from the aforementioned Cooper King to the Spirit of Yorkshire the county isn’t short of a dram or two of Yorkshire made single malt.

Spirit of Yorkshire was founded in 2016 and is proud to create the product from field to bottle on the coast in Filey. With a variety of options available the brand is gaining fans far and wide. You’d struggle to go wrong with a bottle but we’re happy to trust the experts so will recommend the Filey Bay Moscatel Finish Batch #2 which took home Gold at the World Whiskey Masters last year.

 

3) Vodka
There are a number of distillers producing Vodka in the region from the Yorkshire Dales Distillery which has the Smokey Ram Vodka, described as being subtle and exceptionally smooth; to Priory Vodka is created from potatoes grown by David Rawlings on the Priory Farm in North Yorkshire. Priory has won a host of awards including two Gold awards for the micro distillery and ultra premium categories at the Vodka Masters awards in 2017.

 

4) Rum
A spirit which like gin and vodka has grown in popularity amongst artisan producers because it doesn’t have the same time requirements of Whiskey, needless to say Yorkshire isn’t short of a half gill – the traditional way Royal Naval rum was measured. God’s Own Spirit has three different premium rums to choose from including Yorkshire Gold (not to be confused with a product of the same name from Yorkshire Tea) as well as Spiced and Winter & Blush which each offer a distinctive flavour, aroma and experience and are created in North Yorkshire.

Also seeking to create a Yorkshire “rum of real intrigue” were Leeds-based duo of Chloe Potter and Rory Armstrong who founded Libations and launched in 2019 after what they described as 18 months of planning preparation and drinking more rum than they’d care to admit. They currently offer two options a single origin spiced rum alongside Piña a pineapple infused spiced rum.

 

5) Tequila
This spirit feels as if it is experiencing a renaissance. No longer is it the shot served with lime and salt, you’ll now find it in the hands of many of refined drinker and whether served on the rocks or mixed into a tasty a cocktail we’re certainly expecting it to be a tipple of 2022 at TheBusinessDesk.com. But you’re asking how this Mexican tipple can make a list of Yorkshire spirits, well enter Hacien!

The Leeds-based start up isn’t the first to make a Yorkshire tequila but founders Seb Francis and Jordan Myers noted that the “shot culture” was threatening to tear the potential the agave spirit has to bring people together and celebrate culture. Hacien now features a range of three tequilas, a Tequila Blanco which is described as offering a clean, aromatic taste of the finest blue agave; a Pineapple Tequuila Blanco , and a barrel aged tequila known as Tequila Añejo Cristalino. The latter is described as best served over ice and enjoyed slowly and has a crystal clear complexion as a result of being filtered with charcoal to remove colour but retain its bold and complex flavour.

We’ve yet to personally taste Hacien’s product but word on the grape vine  street is it offers a deliciously smooth drink.

So whether you’re ending Dry January, searching for an interesting gift for a friend or just planning a party, hopefully this list will provide some inspiration to try some of Yorkshire’s amazing spirits!

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