Everybody loves a good comeback story. From the 2005 Champion’s League final dubbed the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ to Tiger Woods winning the Masters in 2019 – his first major since 2008, we’ve seen some remarkable comebacks over the years. Without doubt however, in my mind at least, one of the most impressive has been the return of rye whisky.

Once the most common variety of whisky in the US, rye gradually faded into obscurity and was replaced by corn as the grain of choice for whisky distillers in post-Prohibition America. In the 90s, rye all but disappeared completely, as the populace gravitated towards Bourbon and Scotch. But then, a couple of decades later, like George Foreman at the age of 45, rye staged an epic comeback. With more body, along with fruity, peppery, and those trademark spicy notes, rye proved it could hang with the big boys of the whisky world.

As you can probably tell, the whisky we’ll be looking at today is a rye, specifically, it’s a rye from Fielden (previously ‘The Oxford Artisan Distillery’) known as Harvest 2019.

Whisky Shaped by the British Weather

If there’s one thing you can guarantee here in the UK, it’s that our summers are going to be wet and disappointing (unless you enjoy mild and drizzly days). Because of this, we constantly have to adapt, and the same is especially true in the whisky industry.

English whisky may not be anywhere near as pronounced as Scotch, but don’t let that fool you, there’s still a huge market for good English whisky, and Fielden whisky definitely fits that criteria.

Fielden, who are soon to be relocated to the Yorkshire countryside of Goole, Fielden have embraced the diversity of the British countryside, utilising heritage grains in their expressions. This approach to whisky making is something I’d love to see more of, and it’s likely that’s exactly what will happen.