First came Whittaker's Gin. Our aim was to produce an artisan small batch, handcrafted spirit which reflects the Yorkshire countryside in a bottle which is reflected in our now international award winning Original Gin.  This is predominantly Juniper, Coriander and Angelica Root. Our signature botanicals are Bilberries, Hawthorne berries, Bog Myrtle and garden Thyme with a hint of fresh lemon citrus. All our fruit gins are made with fresh fruit some of which is grown here at Harewell.

Our gins and spirits have won many awards nationally and internationally. Our Original Gin was awarded Silver in the IWSC and won Best International Gin and a Double Gold Medal at the American Distilling Institute Awards in 2018. Our Navy Strength won Best in Class in this competition. Our Barley Mow Vodka won Best UK Varietal Vodka at the World Vodka Awards and also our Original Gin won Gold in the World Gin Awards in 2021 to name but a few.

Our whisky journey started in 2019 when we completed our new distillery building and visitors centre. After starting our distillery in 2015 with stills (named Jezebel after our daughters Jessica and Isabella) from Hillbilly Stills in Kentucky, we decided to return to the USA for our new distillery equipment which is when we were introduced to American Beverage Equipment (ABE). This was really exciting as we were ABE's first ever distillery. In July 2019, we took delivery of our 1000 litre mash tun, 2 x 1000 litre fermenters, 2 x 1000 litre copper stills (named Eve and Esmerelda) and our new 500 litre copper gin still (named Griselda).

We laid down our first barrel of Single Malt English Whisky in November 2019 and our First Release was launched in August 2024.

We have had 3 releases so far in total, our First Release Cask Strength 61.1% ABV Double Bourbon Aged Whisky, our 2024 First Edition 48.3% ABV Double Bourbon Aged Whisky and then in November 2024, our 2024 Fireside Chapter Cask Strength Whisky 61.9% ABV which was an Oloroso aged whisky that we finished in a peated Islay cask. We will be releasing a peated expression Fireside Chapter every year.

We take great care to ensure all the ingredients which go to create our whisky, are carefully selected. The water is from the spring on our farm and the barley is grown at the end of the river Nidd on another family farm, Poplars Farm, Ferrensby owned by Andrew and Ione Cumming (née Whittaker). This year, the barley is Diablo and is currently being malted and milled at Thomas Fawcett & Sons in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Our casks are predominantly ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry and ex-Rum, so look out for three different expressions. We can’t help but try different things, so we have some wonderful surprises up our sleeve, but that is for the future – think Vintage Port…

Nidderdale is no stranger to brewing and the heritage of malting barley. Did you know that Nidderdale means ‘Valley of sparkling water’? This is due to the multitude of springs that exist in the Valley of the River Nidd. Indeed our own spring ultimately ends up in the river by Summerbridge. The Dale has a strong history of brewing and historic records show where malt kilns operated centuries ago. One recorded at Thornthwaite and one at Braisty Woods. There were breweries at Pateley Bridge, so really we are just bringing back to Nidderdale what should have been here in the first place. Scotland has developed a wonderful industry with Scotch Whisky and now it is time for Yorkshire to show what it can do.

The climate in this part of the world is temperate, so, not only is it the best place to produce barley, cattle and sheep, but it also happens to be excellent for maturing casks.