Ben Horley

The Climb

Since 2013, Ben Horley has been head distiller of St Agnes Distillery. Roles like that are usually earned through repetition: reading a still’s timing, understanding raw material, and keeping process steady enough to shape character without forcing it.

Today

At St Agnes Distillery, Ben Horley applies that experience to single batch whiskies with clear differences from one release to the next, drawing on the malt distillation trials he helped develop and the original historic copper pot stills he has worked with at the distillery. The work is technical, but its aim is broader than procedure. Each decision has to sit alongside what came before. That continuity is central to the way the whisky reads. Ben Horley’s work holds two threads at once: the brandy history he speaks about, and the whisky program that has given St Agnes a new kind of release while remaining closely tied to its equipment and house practice. The result is a style shaped by the distillery’s inheritance, but not limited by it.

Career - Head distiller — St Agnes Distillery (2013–present)

Signature

Ben's signature wines include Camborne Single Malt Whisky, Brandy Cask, Sherry Cask, Tawny Cask, and Shiraz Cask. Read together, they point to a cask-led approach: the finish is not an afterthought, but part of how the spirit is defined.

In Their Words “By using the neutral varieties as used in the Cognac region in France, St Agnes Distillery was able to craft a delicate, clean and elegant spirit that when aged in small French Oak casks creates a most distinctive and versatile spirit.” That line sets out the working logic plainly: neutrality at the start, small French Oak casks as the shaping element, and a spirit built to stay clean, elegant, and adaptable.

Recognition

The launch framed the single batch approach through named cask expressions rather than one broad claim. That gave the release a clear internal order, with each bottling carrying its own identity. Brandy Cask was released in 2022 as a single cask expression in the Camborne launch. Sherry Cask, Tawny Cask, and Shiraz Cask followed in the same group, each identified by its cask and each part of the first single malt chapter at St Agnes Distillery. The effect was cumulative: one expression leading to the next, each adding another layer to the distillery’s evolving voice. Taken together, those 2022 releases define Ben Horley’s role at St Agnes Distillery: maintaining a distilling inheritance in Renmark while translating it into whiskies that state their cask identity clearly. It is custodial work, but it is also interpretive work, giving the house style a sharper form without breaking from its base.

FAQ What is Ben Horley's current role? As of 2026, Ben Horley is Head Distiller. What is Ben Horley known for? Uses experience to craft single batch whiskies with unique character; helped develop malt distillation trials and used original historic copper pot stills at St Agnes.