Since launching its inaugural single malt in 2019, Northamptonshire’s Wharf Distillery has carved out a loyal following among collectors with small-run whisky bottlings, released alongside its wider range of rum and gins.

Having laid down its spirit in 2015, it became the 8th English distillery since 1903 to release an authentic English whisky. Its very first whisky, Cattle Creep, named after the narrow livestock underpasses along the Grand Union Canal, was aged in 55-litre Madeira casks and bottled at 58.8 per cent ABV.

Wharf then released the Equinox and Solstice single malts, matured in 160-litre Port quarter casks and chestnut wood. It then launched Fyr Drenc, an English single malt grain spirit distilled in copper pot stills using four types of malted barley.

Operating out of Towcester in Northamptonshire, founder Laurence Conisbee has spent the past seven years proving his liquid can hold its own.

An English whiskey named after a moment in time

Now, however, he is ditching the folklore altogether. Wharf’s latest release, bottled at 55.3 per cent ABV, dispenses with themed names in favour of a timestamp: 17.05.23 15:18 Single Malt English Whiskey.

In a market increasingly sceptical of over-packaged craft releases, that stripped-back naming convention, coupled with the ‘e’ in whiskey, helps the bottling stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

“Every whiskey takes its own path,” says Conisbee. “We wanted to create something that celebrates that individuality, stripping away the elaborate names and unnecessary embellishments and allowing the whiskey to speak for itself. Each release is identified simply by the moment its cask was filled. The rest of the story is there for people to discover and interpret in their own way.”

The whiskey was matured in an ex-bourbon cask and is an individual expression of English single malt whiskey. With only one cask filled, it’s a rare item in a crowded market.

“We’ve been releasing English whiskey since 2019, but this represents an evolution in how we present what we make,” Conisbee notes. “This particular whiskey began its maturation journey in an ex-bourbon cask on 17 May 2023 at precisely 15:18. It’s a unique expression of that single cask, something that can never be repeated in quite the same way. And with a Madeira cask release planned for next year, we’re looking forward to exploring where the next path takes us,” he adds.