As befits a drink that should be lingered over it’s been a long process to bring the latest Manx whiskey to fruition.

Ushtey Bea, meaning Water of Life, the Manx Gaelic expression for whiskey, is currently maturing in casks at the Fynoderee Distillery in Ramsey.

The first release bottles will be ready in 2026 but Fynoderee founders, Paul and Tiffany Kerruish, are inviting the island’s whiskey lovers to join them on the spirit’s journey.

It’s a journey that really began in the spring of 2021 when farmer Pentti Christian planted a crop of Laureate barley, considered to be ideal for malting, in some of his fields at Scarlett.

At the end of August that year, after an edgy few days with summer storms on the horizon, Pentti managed to dodge the weather and bring in a cracking crop. The barley was then sent to Warminster Maltings, Britain’s oldest working maltings, for the next stage in its journey to becoming whiskey.

Paul Kerruish says: ‘They said it was some of the best malt they’d seen in 2021.’

The next stage of whiskey production is making a ‘wort’ from the malted barley. As this is broadly similar to the process used to brew beer, Fyndoree has enlisted the services of Isle of Man brewers, Bushy’s and Okell’s, to carry out this part of the process on their larger scale equipment.

Paul says: ‘We’re using that community spirit that there is over here by approaching these guys. They’re really excited about being involved and we’re using their really experienced knowledge of that particular part of the process which is key to us for maintaining the highest possible standards.

‘We’re realistic: we’re not brewers we’re distillers. And it’s interesting because, probably five or 10 years ago, that might have been frowned upon but now with the innovation there is in the sector, the things coming through like the English Whiskey Guild forming and trying to establish this English whiskey brand, there’s the same opportunity here so there’s a much more receptive audience to being innovative in the way you operate.’

The wort, which contains no alcohol, then goes to the Fyndoree distillery where they add frozen yeast which kicks off the fermentation process, converting the sugars to alcohol, before it then goes on to distillation.

The distillery had previously made a trial cask of whiskey which proved a valuable learning experience. As a result they have been installing a much larger, 2,000 litre still.

Tiffany says: ‘The trial whiskey is not for sale it’s just really to say that it has been made in the island and has been officially declared by customs to be proper whiskey, in accordance with the Manx whiskey regulations, but it’s not part of what we’re going to be releasing to the world.

‘That will always be kept in the distillery and it’s actually not representative of what we’re going to be releasing in three years’ time. Now we’ve got a protocol that will allow us to be much more consistent going forward.’

However, three years is a long time and, to keep the whole process moving into the future, there will need to be more barley planted, harvested and malted ready for use and, with no immediate sales of the product, cashflow clearly becomes an issue. Fynoderee is already a successful brand, selling its premium gins, vodka and rum, but now the Kerruishes are also offering a whiskey club membership to provide a further source of income to support their enterprise.

Paul says: The problem with whiskey is that it’s a much higher entry point because of the equipment you need is bigger and consequently more expensive and as we’re finding now it’s not a cheap enterprise. That’s why we wanted to get this club membership out there and we’re very open in saying it’s partly to try and help us raise some funds, because we’re self funded as a business, to help us fund this journey.’

Tiffany says: ‘There will only be a thousand members and at the moment we’ve only really promoted to the Isle of Man, to give the Manx people the first chance of getting in on it before we offer it to the global whiskey market.’

The club is something which is likely to whet the appetites of the many whiskey enthusiasts out there. It includes a numbered bottle of Fynoderee’s first release whiskey which will be ready in 2026.

Paul says: ‘In terms of collectible whiskey from us, that will be the ultimate one, and we’re trying to make sure that when it’s done it will be really good quality.

‘Members will also have the chance to come to the distillery to do their tasting once a year and for us getting that feedback on the maturing spirit will be very valuable.’

Membership of the club costs £333 which might sound a lot for, essentially, one bottle of whiskey but, interestingly, a quick check online showed that a bottle of first release whiskey from English distillery, Bimber, is now selling at £2,000. Welcome to the world of the whiskey enthusiast.

And Paul believes there are wider benefits for the island. He says: ‘We feel there is a real opportunity to create quite a big sector here. We’ve got ourselves doing it, we’ve got the Manx Whiskey Company in Ballasalla they’re doing it too, though obviously a little bit smaller than us at the moment, and that’s very exciting.

‘The reality is we think there’s real scope and hopefully that’s what we’ll prove down the line. It’s a big, big market, the whiskey market. Whiskey is globally revered and in demand and, in the really big markets like America and Asia, there’s an almost seemingly insatiable demand so we do think this is a fabulous opportunity for the island and if we can help trailblaze in that market then it can only be a good thing for us and a good thing for the island.’