When Joseph Malins, a young Jewish immigrant to London had the novel idea of combining fried fish (a traditional Sephardi meal) with potato chips to create the now-iconic fish and chips and opened his first shop on Old Ford Road in the East End of London in 1860, little did he know the influence that he would have on the English national palette. He was not the only one. The Jewish contribution to London has been extensive since the first Jewish immigrants arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066.

One drink that is very much in fashion in the bars around London is whisky, but that is nothing new. Londoners have been drinking the spirit since the middle of the eighteenth century. As a Blue Badge Tourist Guide, I have taken one for the team in researching and exploring London’s whisky scene.