The London Distillery Company was established in 2011 (by ex-blogger Darren Rook and his team) as London’s first new whisky distillery for over a century. The distillery was housed in a renovated warehouse in Battersea, south London. However, the company went into administration in 2020. It was taken over by Gleann Mòr Spirits in 2023 and revived at the beginning of 2025. Matt McKay (also ex-blogger at The Dramble) is leading the revitalisation as whisky maker.
In the coming years they’ll work with the existing whisky stock of around 70 casks, filled between 2011-2020 under the previous ownership. Most of this stock uses heritage barley. We shouldn’t expect new production for the next couple of years, but I understand that’s definitely the plan for the future.
The first bottle is The Golden Union, a combination of London’s stocks with spirit from Adnams Distillery (supposedly 13 years of age). Different vintages are used, matured in both barrels and hogsheads. Collabs with other English distilleries will follow.
London Distillery ‘The Golden Union’ – Release #1 (50%, OB 2025, blended malt, 973 btl.)
Nose: vibrant and bourbonny, with heavy vanilla up front, as well as some virgin oak characteristics. Coconut shavings, popcorn and buttery biscuits. Hints of Raffaelo bonbons. Then some honey, yellow apples and corn flakes, as well as a little lemon and sharper notes of pine wood and ginger.
Mouth: quite sweet, with golden syrup along with plenty of grainy notes. Green apples and more lemon acidity, with ginger and white pepper. Mid-palate it becomes quite tangy with plenty of saw dust, a hint of horseradish and bitter grassy notes. Even a lightly chemical trace, which is less pleasant.
Finish: short, with more pronounced wood tannins and grippy spice.
It starts very easy-going and dessert-like on the nose, but it loses its coherence on the palate. Overall a bit grainy for a blended malt, and a bit rough around the edges. Elements of youth, I’d say. Reasonably priced though. Still available from Royal Mile Whiskies, for instance.
London Distillery Renascence (58%, OB 2025, refill barrels + first-fill sherry, 410 btl.)
Nose: quite wood-driven again, with some saw dust, hay anda lot of minty freshness. A firm rye note as well. Then some breads and pastries, walnuts, liquorice and hints of white pepper. Light hints of oranges and toffee, possibly from the sherry. Just a whiff of nail polish remover. Far more classic than the blended malt.
Mouth: a spicy arrival on white pepper, clove and ginger. Peppermint and pine wood. Then a light hint of buttery shortbread, along with charred orange and lemon peelings. The heat becomes stronger. Then some dark chocolate in the background, along with some floral gin-like botanicals and more rye elements.
Finish: short to medium, but still refreshing. Some oaky sweetness with citrus and drying herbal notes.
I liked the rye elements which mingle with mint and gin-like botanicals to add a very refreshing touch. The sherry influence is anecdotal here, although this kind of spirit could actually shine in a proper first-fill sherry cask. However I do hope they can generally control or even slow down the oak influence in the existing stocks. Sold out. Score: 83/100
London Distillery – English Apple Brandy 12 yo (71,1%, OB 2025, single cask #141, sample)
Nose: did you notice the crazy ABV? Plenty of apples, of course, but also a heavy rum note. Some volatile diesel-like note even. With water also baked apples with cinnamon dusting, hints of waffle dough and Demerara sugar. Then a subtle hint of butter toffee and walnuts.
Mouth: really nice. Plenty of apples with cinnamon and brown sugar again, as well as some bubblegum notes (strawberry perhaps). I love the oily and rummy side. When watered down to 55% it opens up with walnuts, mint, plenty of tea leaves and drying hints of leather.
Finish: medium length, with the buttery side standing out. Some woody astringency as well.
This goes down surprisingly well, even at its original strength. I was especially surprised by its echoes of Jamaican rum. Now whether there’s a huge market for this is a different question, but it’s a nice distillate. Score: 84/100