The Angels' Share

. FREE DOWNLOAD‼️ When we visited White Peak Distillery for our English whisky special issue we chatted with Distillery Manager David Symes about the secrets behind the distillery’s Wire Works releases. It was a really interesting chat so we thought we’d share it with you - for free! It’s not polished - it wasn’t intended to be anything other than a recorded conversation for the print issue - but it’s perhaps just as interesting because of that. You can download it for free from www.angelssharejournal/shop (Read the full interview with David Symes and founders Claire and Max Vaughan in our White Peak issue). Enjoy!! #editorial #interview #publishing #magazines #independent #thisisnotapodcast

Full disclosure: Our English Whisky Special was not written, designed and edited on one computer. #single #mag Issue 5 features The Lakes Distillery Cotswolds Distillery The English Distillery White Peak Distillery Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery www.angelssharejournal.com

Tom Mellor knows a lot of things about a lot of things. He has farmed the land at Hunmanby Grange Farm in North Yorkshire for some 40 years, as did his father and grandfather before him, so there’s very (very!) little he doesn’t know about growing barley. More than 20 years ago now, Tom founded Wold Top Brewery Ltd to make best use of the barley he grew. He taught himself how to brew beer and over the years has come to know how to run a successful micro-brewery. Then, in 2016, he decided to set up Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery with his good friend David Thompson. The pair operated the stills themselves for the first year, so know how to make whisky, and they released their first expression under the Filey Bay name in 2019. Yep, Tom Mellor knows a lot of things about a lot of things, but there’s one thing he knows that is perhaps more important than everything else put together. “The best thing you can know is knowing what you don’t know,” he says. “Once you understand that you don’t have to know everything, or you don’t have the answer for everything, then you can start to look for it.” That’s the approach for this journal: we find something we don’t know about and then go looking for answers. It’s how we learned about Tom, David and Spirit of Yorkshire – and we’re glad we did! #magazine #journal #editorial #design #photography #indymag #yorkshire #yorkshirewhisky #spiritofyorkshire #beer #brewery

Max Vaughan looks more like one of the Beastie Boys than he does a finance guy who was forging a successful career in the City. Which is possibly part of the reason why he decided to stop being a finance guy forging a successful career in the City. He doesn’t look much like you’d imagine a whisky distillery owner to look either. Which is possibly part of the reason why White Peak Distillery doesn’t look like your typical whisky distillery. You won’t find any cupolas or whitewashed walls with the words W H I T E P E A K painted on them in 20-ft high letters here. “I had a sense that if we only reached out to advisers in Scotland, we risked building a Scottish distillery in England, and that would have been an opportunity lost,” he says. There’s an air of confidence about the distillery that resonates from Max, who greets us wearing a sweatshirt and baseball cap. The Beastie Boys’ track Alive springs to mind as he talks. It starts: ‘I have never been more ready in my entire life to do this right now.’ You can definitely imagine Max daubing that onto the side of his distillery in 20-ft high letters! Have a read. www.angelssharejournal.com #english #whisky #magazing #journal #independent #design

Isn’t it strange to think that, just 20 years ago, there was no such thing as English whisky? Today, there are more than 50 distilleries in England, but before 2005 there wasn’t a single registered distillery in the country. It’s even more strange to think that the person who changed all that was a 60-year-old Norfolk farmer who had absolutely no interest in building a distillery as a commercial venture. James Nelstrop just wanted to make whisky to share with his friends. “Most distilleries are opened after the marketing has been decided, the brand has been decided, the image created and the website built,” says James’ son Andrew, who has been involved since the start and is the current owner of The English Distillery. “My father really didn’t care about any of that. All he wanted to do was make whisky, and because of the fortunate position he was in, he wasn’t that bothered about selling it either! “He just wanted to fill the sheds with casks and share the whisky with his mates.” James Nelstrop didn’t intend to become the grandfather of English whisky when he decided to build that distillery on his farm in 2005, but chances are the whole industry wouldn’t be in quite the same place if he hadn’t. So next time you have a dram, raise your glass to trailblazer James Nelstrop – and to his son Andrew, who now makes the best whisky in the world! Read more about The English Distillery in Issue Five - our English Whisky Special - five separate 28-page journals, available now from www.angelssharejournal.com #english #whisky #englishwhisky #magazines #photography #writing #journalism #print #independentmagazines Katy Nelstrop

“Usually, if you commission a distillery, the equipment is delivered in bits, and then people come down and start connecting it all,” says Cotswolds Distillery founder, Daniel Szor. “This was different. The whole thing was prebuilt in a huge shed in Scotland. “I walked in – it was like an aircraft hangar – and I almost fainted! My legs literally started to shake, and I felt like I was going to be sick. I had to sit down, and I just remember thinking: ‘What the f**k have I done?’” We’ve all had WTF moments like Daniel’s when we’ve looked back on a decision and wondered what on earth we were thinking. For most of us though, it’s more likely to be about spending three figures on a pricey bottle of single malt rather than seven figures on a couple of stills, six shiny washbacks and a whacking great mash tun. “But here’s the amazing thing: back then it seemed so big, but now it’s just our distillery,” says Daniel. “That’s the weird thing about risk. It only feels risky for a little while, and then some other idea comes up.” Like all the great global brands, Daniel can put New York / Paris / London after his name, having spent large chunks of his life living in all three cities. But without doubt, the location he’s most proud of is Stourton – where those fancy new stills can be found. We decided to go and stroke them, and caught up with Daniel to chat about near-death experiences, the importance of legacy and why his mate Dave has a lot to answer for… Find out more in Issue Five www.angelssharejournal.com #english #whisky #magazine #print #journalism #design #editorial #independent Rob Patchett

You get the impression Sarah Burgess has always been a bit different. A bit extraordinary. A bit better. She’s way too modest to think that way, but as whisky maker at The Lakes Distillery she has been given the freedom to show it. As she set about crafting her latest creation, she talked candidly to us about nailing an interview at The Macallan, the freedom she has at The Lakes and her concerns for the future of her beloved Scotch… “I remember years ago having to make a particular whisky that I’d never made before. Every day I would make it and let it rest overnight so the flavours could combine. The next day I’d try it and it didn’t work. All the flavours were there, but the order was all mashed up – they would come in the wrong order on the palate, so I just kept starting again.” So not only do you blend for certain flavours but each has to be discernible in a specific order? “The nose should always lead you, and because the nose goes ‘this, then this, then this’, the palate should go ‘that, then that, then that’ – it should follow. Sometimes, the aromas might go one way and the taste goes the other. That’s alright, because then you’re tasting what you most recently smelled, and it’s a nice journey. But when the aromas go one way and the taste zigzags all over the place that’s not okay.” We get a whisky-making masterclass from a master of class. Spend some time with Sarah Burgess in Issue Five. You’ll never look at whisky in quite the same way again!! www.angelssharejournal.com #english #whisky #englishwhisky #singlemalt #thelakes #lakeswhisky #care #craft #skill #attentiontodetail #lakedistrict #magazines #editorial #print

This amazing collection from The Angels' Share arrived over the weekend, a great read showcasing some of English Whiskies superstars, including the pioneers and 2024 World’s Best Single Malt The English Distillery some great insights 👍🥃 #Englishwhisky The Lakes Distillery Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery Cotswolds Distillery White Peak Distillery

This is perhaps the best bit about making your own magazine!! When you get copies of the latest issue back and you start mailing them out to readers. There are only two of us who put the journal together - one writer and one designer. We handle the orders and stuff the envelopes from our dining room tables, and put all the money we make from sales straight back into the next issue. It’s a pure passion project that we fit in around the rest of our working lives. So massive thanks to everyone who has ever bought a copy. We truly appreciate your support!! 🙌🙌🙌 And if you’ve never seen a copy check out issue 5. It’s our English Whisky Special - five separate 28-page journals, all for the same price as a regular issue. Each journal focuses on one distillery, and takes you access all areas and behind the scenes during a regular day in the life of that distillery. Get the lowdown from the owners, founders and whisky makers. From The Lakes Distillery to Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery and from White Peak Distillery to The English Distillery and Cotswolds Distillery take a whisky tour around England and discover the devotion behind the drams. Check it out at angelssharejournal.com #magazine #journalism #editorial #design #publishing #indy #independent

Sent issue five - our English whisky special issue - to press. It will be out this week. We’ve got tales of experimental whisky making, passion projects, massive success stories, sensory superpowers and important business conversations in hot tubs. All this - and loads more - in a brand-new format: five 28-page issues that will be released as a set featuring The Lakes Distillery Cotswolds Distillery Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery White Peak Distillery The English Distillery Wold Top Brewery Ltd Sarah Burgess Steve Gibson Max Vaughan David Thompson Tom Mellor David Symes Katy Nelstrop Andrew Nelstrop Daniel Szor Rob Patchett Check it out at www.angelssharejournal.com #whisky #whiskey #passion #care #craft #entrepreneur #magazines #journalism #design #print #writing #photography #independent