A small distillery on the Isle of Man has created a stir among drinkers by producing the first ever clear single malt.

The brewers have removed charcoal from the distilling process and are hoping the clear spirit, called Keller White, will win over drinkers of American bourbon.

Legal fight over the right to describe Keller White as whisky cost £300,000

Makers of traditional, coloured malts are outraged. Keller White was described as whisky until a High Court judge ruled it illegal.

That legal fight cost the Isle of Man distiller £300,000 in costs, but production of the spirit, which the islanders claim is unique, is now booming.

Production has doubled in the last year. A consignment of 36,000 bottles has just been sent to Taiwan, and the first order from the United States has also been received.

Drinkers in England must wait until Easter before they can buy Keller White, although those who have sampled the drink on the Isle of Man have given it their seal of approval.

Andrew Dixon: "My product is tailored to what people want"

The raw material for the spirit is malt whisky, brought over in oak casks, then distilled again to take out the traditional colour.

The taste of traditional Scotch and Keller White, if not the colour, appears much the same, and now the distiller wants to call a truce.

Its owner, Andrew Dixon, told the BBC: "My product is tailored to what people want. I would be very happy if I was a Scotch whisky producer and someone was buying my product, improving it, then selling it."

Mr Dixon also says his spirit may have health benefits. "Oak barrels are charred by burning them over a flame, and while no-one's saying you'll die if you drink a glass of whisky, it's accepted that the fewer harmful compounds you put inside you the better."
 

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