Beckett’s releases inaugural single malt

English gin producer Kingston Distillers has launched its inaugural single malt, described as the world's first whisky to be matured in sloe gin casks.

Offered at 46.8% ABV, the first release of Beckett's Single Malt is limited to 324 bottles. The malt spirit for the release was rested in an American oak cask used to store Beckett's Sloe Gin. The result is a 'smooth' single malt English whisky that is 'sweet and fruity with a long honey finish'. Beckett's single malt is produced in small quantities. The London-based distillery will release one cask at a time once a year, with only around 300 bottles per release. Each bottle displays a unique number and the number of the cask it was drawn.

Neil Beckett, founder of Kingston Distillers, said: “This whisky completes our range of spirits. We first developed our classic London Dry gin more than 10 years ago. This, in turn, was used to make our lovely sloe gin, which in turn was stored in oak casks, creating our innovative barrel-aged sloe gin, which, when emptied, was filled with malt spirit to create, years later, Beckett’s Single Malt English Whisky.

"I hope everyone enjoys our wonderful new whisky as much as I have enjoyed the journey taken to create it.”

The inaugural release is now available on the brand's website in the UK for £79.80 (US$106). Kingston Distillers is based in the town of Kingston upon Thames, in southwest London. In other English whisky news, the country's largest whisky distillery, Princetown Distillers, announced last month that it plans to raise up to £5 million (US$6.5m) to start production.