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- 24th Jul 2026
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Ad Gefrin is launching the first Northumbrian single malt series in 200 years next week
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Ad Gefrin, England’s most northerly distillery, is releasing the first Northumbrian single malt whisky in modern times, and we’re so excited about it.
The Crǣft Series launches on Friday 31st July with three single casks, each bottled at 48% ABV, non-chill filtered and with no added colour. It’s not a taster ahead of a bigger reveal, it’s the official reveal.
Head distiller Ben Murphy has picked out three casks to show how Ad Gefrin’s spirit is developing while the core single malt continues to mature, and each bottle arrives in a sealed box that keeps its contents a surprise until you break the seal.
NORTHUMBRIAN BARLEY, CHEVIOT WATER AND 200 YEARS OF HISTORY
Every drop starts in the ground. The barley’s grown by farming families within 15 miles of the stills, and the water’s drawn from a borehole beneath the distillery floor, straight from the Cheviots. Ad Gefrin’s been distilling here since November 2022, waking up 200 years of dormant Northumbrian tradition, one cask at a time.
Soil and spirit. The land, made liquid.
THREE CASKS, THREE VERY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS
The three casks that make up the debut release share the same Northumbrian provenance but have been pulled in completely different directions by wood and time.
Cask 23170 spent its life in an ex-American Single Malt cask and opens with ripe fruit and sweet malt, before spearmint and lemon sherbet take over on the palate.
Cask 23215 is the tropical one, matured in an ex-Bourbon cask, with mango and spiced peach on the nose giving way to creamy vanilla and sweet cinnamon spice.
Cask 24492 spent 18 months in an ex-American Single Malt cask before finishing in an Oloroso hogshead, and it’s the richest of the three, with dried fruit, resin and new leather on the nose and sticky toffee pudding and mulled wine spice on the palate.
“Making whisky is about the meeting of art and science. We know how our distillery works best, what casks we need and how long to ferment for, but the art is in teasing out the deep-rooted Northumbrian character that embodies everything we do at Ad Gefrin.
“These three casks are distinct from each other, showcasing where that art and science can take us. The thing that unites them is the land from which they came and the backbone of sweet malt and rounded fruit character that is showing up in our new make and sustaining through maturation in the warehouse behind our still room.
“It’s a cliché to say we’re excited to release a whisky, but for it to be the first legal single malt from Northumbria in 200 years is an incredible thing. We can’t wait to see the bottles out in the world and see how they’re received.” – Ben Murphy, head distiller at Ad Gefrin.
NORTHUMBRIAN ART ON EVERY LABEL
Each bottle carries label artwork commissioned from a North East artist, with every piece responding to the character of its paired cask. Voirrey Taylor created the artwork for the Bourbon cask, Luke McTaggart for the American Oak, and Sarah Calavera for the Oloroso Sherry finish. The result is three labels that don’t try to match each other, each one a genuine collaboration between distiller and artist.
YOU WON’T KNOW WHICH CASK YOU’RE GETTING
Crǣft takes its name from the Old English for “art” or “skill,” and the series is built around the idea that discovery is part of the experience. All three casks are released at the same time, each one sealed in a box that carries the series name and bottle number but not the cask number. The jeopardy is deliberate, though never a mystery. All three casks, their tasting notes and their paired artists are promoted openly from day one, but which bottle you end up with comes down to chance.
Corenkyn members, Ad Gefrin’s founding community, get early access to one bottle each across the approximately 1,200 bottles in total, ensuring the release reaches beyond the existing community.
TASTING NOTES
Cask 23-170 – ex-American Single Malt (ASM) cask
Nose: Ripe fruit, sweet malt, sandalwood. Palate: Spearmint, honey blossom, lemon sherbet, candied ginger. Finish: Nutty, banana, minty spice, tart.
Cask 23-215 — ex-Bourbon cask
Nose: Mango, pineapple cubes, spiced peach, wax polish. Palate: Creamy vanilla, pipe tobacco, overripe banana, sweet cinnamon spice. Finish: Honeyed, rich, malt biscuit.
Cask 24-492 — 18 months ex-ASM, finished in Oloroso hogshead
Nose: Resin, cigars, honey, cereal, dried fruit, new leather. Palate: Sticky toffee pudding, vanilla, mulled wine spice mix, cedar. Finish: Sawdust, sultanas, fig newtons, dry.
MEET THE ARTISTS BEHIND CRǢFT
Luke McTaggart – Cask 23-170
Luke McTaggart is an artist based in Amble, Northumberland, whose work deals with landscape and a sense of place, informed by a strong interest in art history. He’s exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Woodhorn Museum.
Voirrey Taylor – Cask 23-215
Voirrey Taylor works in Ad Gefrin’s bistro team and paints in her studio in Yetholm when she’s off shift. She’s inspired by a deep fascination with the human experience, creating expressive, colourful paintings that explore emotion, connection and identity through layered mark-making.
Sarah Calavera – Cask 24-492
Sarah Calavera is a County Durham-based graphic artist and printmaker blending gothic aesthetics, neon palettes and retro pop culture. Her Process Over Perfection philosophy and DIY, hands-on approach have made her a leading voice for alternative art and creative accessibility across the UK.
ROOTED IN COMMUNITY
By working with local artists, Ad Gefrin’s continuing a long tradition of craft as something shared rather than solitary, passed between people, shaped by community and enriched by collaboration. It’s whisky as part of a wider cultural story, one that belongs as much to the region as it does to the distillery.
BOOK YOUR PLACE AT THE LAMMAS GADERUNG
The Crǣft Series launches on Friday 31st July as part of the Lammas Gaderung, Ad Gefrin’s annual celebration of Northumbrian harvest and hospitality. Those who want to get their hands on a bottle early can do so at the ticketed launch dinner that evening (£95, 120 places), marked by a guided blind tasting led by Ben Murphy and joined by all three artists.
Public sales open the following morning, with bottles available onsite from 10am on Saturday 1st August. The Gaderung weekend continues on Saturday 1st August with a whisky festival in partnership with The Whisky Lounge. The Crǣft Series is the first in a planned run of up to twelve single cask releases, with an open call for artists running alongside the launch for future commissions.
EVENTS NOT TO MISS THIS SUMMER: THE GADERUNG WEEKEND AT AD GEFRIN
Ad Gefrin’s Lammas weekend brings whisky, music and Northumbrian hospitality together across two very different days. Saturday’s Capture the Spirit is the whisky lovers’ day, while Sunday’s Share the Spirit is a family-friendly celebration of local food, craft and culture. Both are free to attend, with paid extras on top.
The Gaderung: Capture the Spirit
Saturday 1st August
Cost: For tickets and information please visit the website.
A celebration of whisky, music and warm hospitality, in partnership with The Whisky Lounge. Step into a multi-sensory day where exceptional whiskies are paired with music built to bring each dram to life, from smoky, peated drams set to the blues, through to light, floral notes drifting alongside gentle acoustic jazz, and rich, sherried malts set against summer soul and funk.
Site opens at 10am and runs to 9pm, with the main event running 12pm to 8pm. Entry to site is free. Whisky sampling is ticketed via The Whisky Lounge. Distillery short tours run at 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm at £10 each (tours don’t include tasting). A Director of Distilling tasting led by Ben Murphy through the newly released Crǣft Series runs at 11am and 2pm, priced at £25. Confirmed whisky sampling comes from Paul John Distillers, An Gael Irish Whiskey, Whey Aye Whisky, Rare Find (Gleann Mor), English Whisky Company, The Whisky Lounge and Ad Gefrin. Stalls on the day include Neve Wellness, Northumbrian Pantry, Lucky Bird, Love Fiona Flowers, Nicky Daguilar, Grate Newcastle Ltd, Pizza Bebbo, Hummingbird and Pompette Wine, with music from The Mojitos, Inglenook and Jaz Riley from 1pm onwards.
The Gaderung: Share the Spirit
Sunday 2nd August
Cost: Free
A family-friendly daytime celebration of Northumbria’s food, heritage, music and makers, and the second half of Ad Gefrin’s Lammas weekend. Expect a vibrant gathering of artisans, crafters and local food producers alongside performers, storytellers and traditional Anglo-Saxon games, with folk music and dance running throughout the day.
Site is open 10am to 5pm and entry is free. Distillery express tours run hourly from 11am to 4pm at £10 per person (tours don’t include tasting). Stalls include Neve Wellness, Northumbrian Pantry, Lucky Bird, Nicky Daguilar, Grate Newcastle Ltd, Pizza Bebbo, Hummingbird, Pompette Wine, Bite About Art, Among the Woods and Waters, Rodney and Co, Northumbrian E-Bikes, Bibi Bakers, Village Meadows Kitchen, Elsdon Forge and Cheviot Candle Co.
Music comes from Coled Lore at 11am, 1pm and 4pm, the Alnwick Allstars Choir at 12pm, Ruby Kelly at 1pm and 3pm, and Jimi Dingwall at 2pm, with Anglo-Saxon re-enactors on site throughout the day.
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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