A Photographer on a mission

A Photographer On a Mission

Introduction

We, at Henstone Distillery, were fortunate enough to have a visit from photographer Steve Jenkins, a photographer on a mission, last year. He went on to create the “wall of fame” at the inaugural English Whisky Festival in November of 2022. Here is a little article about Steve which is followed by a number of his photographs. Hope you enjoy. Before his article, here is a photo he took of our Single Malt English Whisky.

A close up picture of a henstone branded whisky bottle next to a henstone branded glass

About Steve Jenkins

Photographer Steve Jenkins is on a mission, to photograph every English whisky distillery in the country, capturing their uniqueness and the characters associated with them. What started off as an idea one evening (over a dram or two with friends!) has turned into a major personal project seeing him visit all corners of England. So far he is about a third of the way through the actively producing distilleries. Quite a number have only recently laid down casks so whisky won’t be be available till 2024/5 plus there was the pandemic which obviously slowed progress.

When asked how he sees the English whisky “scene” Steve says “It’s an incredibly exciting time for English whisky, all of the distilleries I’ve visited to date have been so welcoming and amazingly passionate about their product. When I attended the English Whisky Festival in Birmingham last November there was such a lively buzz and an atmosphere that I don’t think you’d get say, in Scotland. I’m sure it comes from the distilleries desire to produce a quality spirit in a relatively new and up and coming market.”

Steve obviously has his work cut out as the English Whisky Map keeps on growing “I think it might be a project I never finish but I’ll give it a good go.! When the project is complete I may do an exhibition or possibly a book, I’ve already had some interest from a couple of writers but it’s been great to get in early on such a blossoming movement and capture it for posterity”

From the smallest, independent producers to the larger, more commercial enterprises the diversity is incredible and English whisky can only go from strength to strength.”