The English Distillery
Sherry Cask Matured
One thing that sets whisky apart from other spirits is the substantial commitment required to create it; with the greatest of respects to other spirit forms of course.
This doesn’t necessarily make it a better drink, but it does make it a more complex one, especially when compared to the instancy of gin, the simplicity of vodka or the relatively speedy maturation of rum.
With whisky, at a bare minimum you’re facing a 3 year period in cask, a period over which 6% is lost to the “Angels” (about 2% per year) and after which there are no guarantees you have what you intended to create. The process, while repeatable, has multiple factors out of the Master Distillers’ control, factors such as the weather, the degree that the liquid will respond to the wood in the cask, and so forth.
As such terroir is a vital component, with those north of the Scottish border steeped in decades of expertise and strategically located by the many natural water supplies that country is blessed with. In England, until now at least, that has not been the case, with beer being the favoured drink of pursuit. Recently there have been a few brave pioneers stepping up, one’s willing to take on the challenge and mystique of distilling their own whisky.
One such Distillery is the patriotically named The English Distillery, founded by the Nelstrop family and based in Norfolk. The country’s oldest distillery, the English Distillery has been in operation since 2006 and has the esteemed title of being England’s first registered, operational whisky distillery for over 100 years.
No pressure then, or at least that’s how The English Distillery has made it appear, going on to win Gold Awards for its core whiskies 1 Using locally sourced barley and a fresh water supply from the Breckland aquifer, they create The English single malt whisky, now released in a sherry cask finish as part of their core range.
“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.”
— Andrew Nelstrop, Chairman, The English Distillery
Matured for the duration of its life in PX Sherry casks, this non chill-filtered expression is bottled at 46%, exuding bursts of toffee, led by the familiar vanilla nose of a sherry cask finish.
There is no denying it’s a young whisky, and a slightly mischievous one at that, with a spicy personality and a green freshness that belies the cool temperate maritime it calls home. Coastal Norfolk is open to the biting east wind and that character is reflected in this very English sherry cask maturation; aromas of fresh dark fruits and raw honey.
The most expensive in the collection at £60 (RRP) The English Sherry Cask is available to order now from the English Distillery website and via select partners.
- 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. ↩
