February 2024 – Small Batch 03: English Single Malt Whisky

Summerton Whisky Club’s February 2024 Club Bottle – Small Batch 03: English Single Malt Whisky

Adnams chairman, Jonathan Adnams was the driving force behind Adnams’ move into distilling, wanting to use their brewing expertise to produce quality spirits in the heart of Southwold, following a sustainable grain-to-glass process.

In 2008 they began installing their distillery in an area that previously housed old brewing coppers (large tanks used for boiling the hops and wort together when making beer) which inspired the name, the Copper House Distillery.

Adnams was the first brewery & distillery operating on the same site for many years, which has allowed the Copper House Distillery to be one of the most water and energy efficient distilleries in the UK…cooling is one of the biggest draws on resources for distilleries, therefore Adnams brought the distillery into a closed loop system with the brewery, conserving heat and water – saving millions of litres each year.

East Anglia grows some of the best malting barley in the world and the majority of Adnams barley is locally grown by the extraordinary Holkham Estate, one of the UK’s most pioneering and sustainable rural estates. Adnams use the same locally grown, East Anglian malted cereals in its spirits as they use for its beers, with the rye grown by Jonathan Adnams himself on his family farm in Reydon.

Nestled into the Sole Bay Brewery in the heart of Adnams historic site in Southwold with panoramic views of the town, Southwold Lighthouse and the sea, the distillery’s first distillation in October 2010 was vodka with whisky following soon after, as the site produces Adnams’ award winning range of vodka, gin and whisky. This makes Adnams England’s third oldest whisky distillery!

You may have seen last year that we bottled Single Cask 01, a 10 year old single malt from Adnams. As a brand that isn’t known for its whisky and one that didn’t have many of its own releases, I wanted to share their delicious whisky as I thought it was too good not to be known about. That bottling also allowed us to start a conversation around sharing their great whisky with the whole Club, which I am delighted to be able to do now.

For those who get the opportunity, I can recommend tasting this Small Batch 03 and the Single Cask 01 together. You will note that whilst they are the same age and have been matured in the same 1st fill ex-Jim Beam bourbon casks in the same warehouse, there are still differences in outcome