Founded in 2006, the first registered Whisky distillery in England for over a century, “The English” led the charge for a subsequent wave of new English Whisky Distilleries over the next 15 years (and going strong). The distillery is located in Roundham, Norfolk (near Thetford).
Originally named “St. George’s Distillery” and utilising iconic imagery of the patron saint of England, now the distillery has been renamed “The English Whisky Distillery” and the brand’s look is based on the distillery building and surrounding agricultural area.
Founded by James Nelstrop, a Norfolk Farmer, and his son Andrew (current owner) the original intention was to distil a small amount of whisky for personal enjoyment using their locally grown barley. However, HMRC rules at the time stipulated a minimum still size of 1800 Litres, so undeterred, the Nelstrops set about constructing a much larger commercial distillery than they’d originally planned.
Iain Henderson (previously of Laphroaig) postponed his retirement to help get the distillery up & running for their first spirit run in December 2006 (filling 29 barrels in the year). The visitor centre opened to the public in August 2007 offering tours, tastings and an on-site whisky shop.
Iain soon retired again, but before he did, he spent 16 weeks training David Fitt, a brewer from Greene King to take over. David has been the chief whisky maker since 2008, overseeing all the production, maturation and bottling of their whiskies. The distillery creates both unpeated and peated whisky, as well as having a rolling program of cask trials which have resulted in the many Small Batch releases.
The first release was in 2009 and were originally given chapter numbers (though bottlings 1-4 weren’t legally whisky).
Core Range
The English Original
An unpeated single malt whisky.
The English Smokey
A peated (45ppm) single malt whisky. A lovely waft of smoke on the palate, ideal alternative for the Islay fan.
The English 11 Year Old
The English – 11 Year Old. A perfect whisky to have at hand as we enter summer.
The English Triple Distilled
A very rare occurrence that triple distilled single malt whisky is made at The English Distillery – Light, delicate whisky.
The English Virgin Oak
a hint of powerful oak, but it’s restrained and works well with the heavy vanilla and nutty barley.
The English Sherry Cask
“World’s Best Single Malt” World Whisky Awards 2024 !
Technical details
- LPA – 80,000 litres
- Stills: 2 x 1800L Forsyth Stills
- Water: Breckland Acquifer
- Whisky: Peated & Unpeated
- Grain: Norfolk Barley (Malted at Crisps in Norfolk) – also use corn, rye and other grains for single grain expressions
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- Discounted tickets to the annual English Whisky Festival
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- Additional partner benefits (e.g. at distilleries & partner bars)
