Scilly Spirit launches its first whisky

After announcing their intention to sell the business this year, the founders of Scilly Spirit have released the distillery’s inaugural English whisky.

In May this year, Arthur and Hilary Miller put their gin distillery, Scilly Spirit, located on the Isles of Scilly in southwest England, up for sale with an asking price of £1.5 million (US$1.8m). As it continues to seek a buyer, the distillery has revealed its inaugural whisky – the first single malt to be made on the Isles of Scilly. The new Island Whisky is said to capture the essence of the 'wild isles', using water from the Atlantic Ocean in its production. The whisky pays tribute to the loss of HMS Association in 1707 and its commander Sir Cloudesley Shovell. It was one of four ships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly to be lost during a severe weather incident. The founders of the distillery filled their first cask (medium-toasted new European oak) with batch number one on 2 November – the same calendar date of that notable maritime event. The 46% ABV whisky is described as a “bold and delightful first expression with a lovely, flavoursome but elegant character”. Arthur Millar said: "Hilary and I are so proud to have reached this landmark moment of producing the first whisky ever made on the Isles of Scilly, and we’re thrilled with this first cask release in our striking bottle design, which stays true to our ambition of bringing so many aspects of this beautiful and challenging archipelago to life through our packaging design. “This is so important to us, but also to the consumer, as they increasingly seek drinks brands with genuine provenance.” The first batch of Island Whisky includes 92 700ml bottles, priced at £120 (US$153). It has already sold out in a pre-sale to customers on a waiting list. Scilly Spirit distillery will released its second batch in a Bourbon cask in April 2025. 'No serious responses' In an update on the sale of the distillery, Arthur Miller told The Spirits Business: “As there had been no serious responses to the sale announcement back in May, and as we have built a strong, successful brand, we are understandably continuing the growth of our brand/business, both with positive gains and new opportunities in the UK, as well as further progress in growing distribution in existing and new export markets. “Furthermore, with us only being at the beginning of our journey with our Island Whisky, and the strong interest in the first release, we can be confident of significant growth with this, given the ever-increasing demand for English whisky. “Should there be any subsequent interest in acquiring our brand in the future, then we would view any such approaches on its merits as/when they arise, but for now it’s business as usual." Scilly Spirit is not the only English gin maker to enter the whisky category in recent months. In October, Kingston Distillers launched its inaugural single malt, described as the world’s first whisky to be matured in sloe gin casks. Meanwhile, Nyetimber completed its acquisition of The Lakes Distillery in June in a deal that values the English whisky maker at £71m (US$89m).