As Yorkshire’s first whisky distillery celebrates a decade of distilling with a series of events and anniversary bottlings, it has announced another first.

Hunmanby-based Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery and York-based Cooper King Distillery worked together to create Yorkshire blended malt whisky, Many Hands, the first whisky created through an open collaboration between two English distilleries and unusual in its level of transparency.

The collaboration began when Cooper King Distillery’s Tasmanian copper pot still developed a fault and required repairs. Rather than enduring a nine-month pause in production, which would have led to a long period with no whisky to sell three years later and be disastrous for the young distillery, Cooper King’s founders, Chris and Abbie Jaume, decided to reach out to Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery to ask their neighbours to help fill the gap. Malt spirit from each distillery was filled separately into sibling casks and matured under one roof. The casks were carefully blended and bottled to create a whisky greater than the sum of its parts.

“It was a straight-forward decision for us to help out a fellow distillery in need, especially a neighbour. Although it’s rare to see an open collaboration, it’s not surprising to us - behind the scenes this industry is one of the most collegiate and cooperative in the world and it’s time we showed that side to whisky drinkers,” said Spirit of Yorkshire whisky director, Joe Clark.

Many Hands, 48% abv, has a nose of honeycomb, peach cobbler and blackcurrant leaf; tastes of biscuit, toasted cashews and cracked black pepper, and finishes on toasted rye bread with butter and honey.

“What a pleasure it was to marry another distillery’s whisky into our own. Spirit of Yorkshire’s spirit brings wonderful honeyed, herbal notes, which pair delightfully with Cooper King’s layers of fruit and toasted nut. Collaborating so openly with our neighbours to create a first for the county (and the country) was a real joy,” said Dr Jaume.

Many Hands is limited to 1900 bottles. It has an RRP of £95 and is available from Cooper King Distillery and from selected specialist retailers throughout the UK. £1 from every bottle sold is donated to Cooper King’s charity partner, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, to fund life-changing apprenticeships for young people in rural areas and to help protect vital UK habitats.

Established in 2016, Spirit of Yorkshire is a Single Estate distillery that grows all of the regeneratively farmed barley used to produce whisky, which is available throughout the UK and in a growing number of export markets. It was named one of the top 50 spirits producers in the world by the IWSC in 2025.

Founded by Dr Abbie Jaume, a former scientist, and Chris Jaume, a chartered architect, Cooper King Distillery is an independent, self-built, crowdfunded whisky and gin distillery producing sustainable spirits.