High spirits: Forest Distillery bottles five years of patience

Good things come to those who wait, and at the Forest Distillery the wait has lasted five years. Karl and Lindsay Bond, the husband-and-wife team behind the business, have released Forest Whisky 5-Year-Old Single Malt, a spirit distilled in 2020 and matured beneath the Cat & Fiddle high above Macclesfield Forest.

The setting is a big part of the appeal. The Bonds founded the distillery in 2015 and describe it as the UK's highest-altitude distillery, now based at the historic Cat & Fiddle, the 210-year-old inn on the moorland road between Macclesfield and Buxton, within the Peak District National Park.

The new whisky was matured in two small English oak casks and is bottled at 48 per cent, non-chill filtered and with no colourings or flavourings added. The distillery's own tasting notes speak of soft cedar, petrichor and leather on the nose, followed by buttery biscuits, gentle clove and ginger, and honeyed orange peel. Each bottle is hand-filled into the brand's signature porcelain, presented in a box made from the same English oak as the casks, and accompanied by a certificate hand-signed by Karl and Lindsay.

Forest made its name with gin. Forest Gin is distilled in small batches using botanicals foraged locally, such as wild bilberries, raspberries, gorse flowers and Peak District moss and ferns, combined with organic juniper and coriander and water from a local spring. It has been a double gold winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and was named among the world's fifty best gins.

Across the range, the distillery uses wild yeast alongside locally sourced spring water and barley, a philosophy that ties every bottle closely to the landscape around it.

There is more to come. The Bonds have set out ambitious plans to increase production and create a visitor centre at the site, including a botanical glass walkway, a canopied courtyard and a range of sustainability measures, with the aim of running off-grid using wind turbines and heat recovery.

For now, a trip up to the Cat & Fiddle offers sweeping moorland views and a chance to taste spirits made in one of the most dramatic spots in Cheshire.

The Forest Distillery is at the Cat & Fiddle, above Macclesfield Forest. Find out more at theforestdistillery.com.