THE ENGLISH DISTILLERY INTRODUCES FIRST SHERRY CASK SINGLE MALT TO CORE RANGE
Whisky pioneer The English Distillery is introducing the first sherry matured single malt release to its award-winning core range [1], as England’s oldest registered whisky distillery reinforces its mission to create the country’s finest offering of single malt whiskies, and share them with whisky lovers around the world.
Bottled by hand at its Norfolk distillery, The English Sherry Cask is an unpeated single malt whisky, which has been matured from start to finish in the finest PX sherry casks to create a stunning expression that has been well worth the wait.
Aromas of rich dark fruits from the sherry-filled casks combine in a nose of raw honey and vanilla, leading to a burst of sweet toffee, cherries and digestives on the palate. The result is a wonderfully balanced and rich whisky that is not outshone by the wood..
Bottled at 46% abv, non chill filtered and natural in colour, this no age statement whisky will join The English Original and The English Smokey to enhance the distillery’s core range.
Founded in 2006 by farmer James Nelstrop to fulfil a lifelong dream, the distillery – guided by the experience of legendary Master Distiller Ian Henderson – began to lay down whiskies in its dunnage warehouses, with the sole aim to make world class single malt whisky. The whisky is made using barley grown locally and on the Nelstrop family farms. The entire distillation process of milling, mashing, distilling with a pair of traditional and beautiful copper stills, maturing in the finest oak casks and hand bottling – all take place at the distillery.
“After a mere 17 years of distilling, we finally have just enough stock to add a Sherry cask matured single malt whisky to our core range,” explains Chairman Andrew Nelstrop, James’ son, part of a 20 strong team at the picturesque distillery in the Norfolk district of Breckland.
“This is a momentous step for the distillery and a big milestone as we continue to demonstrate the skill of our distillers and the depth of our maturing stock.”
Available to order now (RRP: £60, 700ml bottle), the new addition will sit alongside The English Original and Smokey (RRP: £47.50 each).
ABOUT THE ENGLISH DISTILLERY
The English Distillery is England’s oldest registered whisky distillery. Founded by the Nelstrop family in Norfolk in 2006, the distillery is still independent and creates multi-award-winning whisky from local barley.
The distillery has a unique place in history. In 1901 the last recorded whisky distillery in England swapped from whisky to gin production before being destroyed by fire. This saw the end of whisky distilleries in England until The English Whisky Co. Ltd was granted a license to distil whisky by HMRC. In 2006 it opened the first registered, operational whisky distillery in England for over 100 years.
Our founder James Nelstrop was the young er son of a Lincolnshire farmer. James spent his formative years farming in Lincolnshire before emigrating to Australia, where farms were bigger and opportunities were plentiful. James returned to England in 1976 and went to work the land in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. He also set up farming charities in Russia to improve the agricultural industry as the country emerged from 30 years of communist control before returning to Norfolk.
As James neared retirement, a lifetime’s dream to make whisky became a possibility. The dream had grown from a throwaway comment made by James’ father, who said it was a “shame all this barley has to go to Scotland to be turned into whisky.”
The decision to build the distillery in Norfolk was quick and with only one caveat: The distillery would produce only the very finest single malt whiskies, regardless of the time it took to get there. This mantra has become the foundation of everything that we do at The English Distillery.
The distillery is now led by James’ son Andrew, who continues to follow in his father’s footsteps.
[1] The English Distillery has won Gold Awards for its core whiskies including, most recently, in the 2022 editions of the prestigious Bartenders’ Brand Awards, New Wizards of Whisky Awards, and Jim Murray’s world-renowned annual Whisky Bible.
