St George's Distillery

Last updated
St George's Distillery
St George's Distillery, Roudham (Geograph-1702972-by-Evelyn-Simak).jpg
LocationHarling Road, Roudham, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Coordinates 52°27′03″N0°54′55″E / 52.450800°N 0.915400°E / 52.450800; 0.915400
OwnerThe English Whisky Co.
Founded2006 (2006)
Founder James Nelstrop & Andrew Nelstrop
StatusOperational
No. of stills2
Capacity1,800 litres
Website englishwhisky.co.uk

St George's Distillery is a distillery based in Roudham, Norfolk. It is owned by the English Whisky Company who are a producer of single malt whisky and other malt-based alcoholic spirits. It is notable for being the first dedicated English distillery for single malt whisky in 100 years at the time of the building's completion in 2006. Their first mature batch went on sale in 2009. [1]

Contents

Founding and history

Initially the distillery was planned as a micro distillery, an experiment in turning excess barley into whisky. St. George's Distillery now produces in excess of 80,000 litres of alcohol a year. Marks and Spencer began selling own-label English whisky in October 2013 which is distilled at St George's. [2]

The founder of the distillery, James Nelstrop, described manufacturing whisky in Norfolk as a dream forty-five years in culmination. His son, Andrew Nelstrop, was the main contractor in the building's construction. The barley now used by the distillery is sourced in Norfolk and historically would have been exported to Scotland's whisky makers.

The premises were officially opened by Prince Charles in March 2007. In 2010 there was a fire at the distillery, which reportedly was only minutes from burning down stock reserves. Nobody was injured and production returned to normal soon after. [3]

Production

When The English Whisky Company first started distilling in 2006, the Nelstrops brought in Iain Henderson (formally of Laphroaig), and a year later they hired David Fitt who was the head distiller until 2022, Chris Waters is currently the senior distiller on site

The barley used in production is locally sourced and the water is supplied from an aquifer that runs directly beneath the distillery. The whisky is matured in casks, is natural coloured, non chill-filtered and bottled on site at 46% abv as standard. [4]

Products

The distillery produces a range of whisky products, including beverages and whisky-based jams & conserves. [5] Its single malt whisky series is noteworthy for being released in batches called 'Chapters' denoting the change in the spirit throughout the aging process. [6]

In 2016 the company drop the Chapters format and rebranded the range to "The English" the first two new expressions were Original and Smokey. [7] Followed a year later by the introduction of "The Norfolk" brand, a single grain range. [8]

Awards

World’s best single malt

On March 22, 2024 The English Whisky Co Sherry cask single malt whisky was named the world’s best single malt at the world whisky awards. [9]

Oldest whisky in England

On 30 November 2023 the English Whisky Co released their 16 year old port cask whisky, the oldest whisky in England. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotch whisky</span> Malt or grain whisky distilled in Scotland

Scotch whisky is malt whisky or grain whisky, made in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whisky</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single malt Scotch</span> Type of whisky made in Scotland

Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single malt whisky</span> Malt whisky from a single distillery

Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Brackla distillery</span>

Royal Brackla distillery is a Highland Scotch whisky distillery on the Cawdor Estate, near Nairn in Scotland. The distillery is operated by John Dewar & Sons Ltd for Bacardi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Glenlivet distillery</span> Distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland that produces single malt Scotch whisky

The Glenlivet distillery is a distillery near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky. It is the oldest legal distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. It was founded in 1824 and has operated almost continuously since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenmorangie distillery</span> Whisky distillery in Tain, Scotland

Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springbank distillery</span>

Springbank distillery is a family-owned single malt whisky distillery on the Kintyre Peninsula in western Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh whisky</span> Whisky distilled in Wales

Welsh whisky is liquor made from malt, grain and water that is produced in Wales. There are currently two types of Welsh whisky Malt Whisky and Grain Whisky

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redbreast (whiskey)</span> Irish whiskey

Redbreast is a brand of single pot still Irish Whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. It was originally bottled by Gilbey's, a Dublin spirits merchant using distillate sourced from Jameson's Bow Street Distillery. In the 1980s, the brand was purchased by Irish Distillers, the producer of Jameson. It is the largest selling single pot still Irish whiskey in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenglassaugh distillery</span>

Glenglassaugh distillery is a malt scotch whisky distillery which restarted production in November 2008 after being acquired by an independent investment group. Following a complete refurbishment by the new owners the distillery was re-opened on 24 November 2008 by then First Minister for Scotland Alex Salmond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamdhu distillery</span>

Tamdhu distillery is a single malt Scotch Speyside whisky distillery, located in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill".

Finnish whisky was first distilled from 1981 to 2000 at the Koskenkorva alcohol distillery in Ilmajoki, Finland, run by the state-owned alcohol monopoly Alko. After years of research and trials, the first brand to enter Finnish liquor stores was simply called Alko Whisky. In 1983 Alko introduced Viski 88 that became the best-selling whisky in Finland and remained in production until the year 2000. A 10-year-old whisky was sold from 1991, until the company discontinued all whisky production in 2000.

It has been common practice in the whisky industry for more than a century for distilleries to sell barrels of whisky to blenders and independent bottlers as a means of making additional income. In fact, some distilleries exist solely to serve independent bottlers, and do not market any brands themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English whisky</span> Whisky distilled in England

English whisky (whiskey) is a liquor made from cereal grains, malt and water. This includes malt whisky and grain whisky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amrut (whisky)</span> Brand of Indian single malt whisky

Amrut is a brand of Indian single malt whisky, manufactured by Amrut Distilleries. It is the first single malt whisky to be made in India. Amrut (अमृत) or amrit is a Sanskrit word which can be translated as "nectar of the gods", "nectar of life", or "drink of the gods". The company translates it as "Elixir of Life". The brand became famous after whisky connoisseur Jim Murray gave it a rating of 82 out of 100 in 2005 and 2010. In 2010 Murray named Amrut Fusion single malt whisky as the third best in the world. John Hansell, editor of American magazine Whisky Advocate, wrote that "India's Amrut distillery changed the way many think of Indian whisky – that it was, in the past, just cheap Scotch whisky blended with who knows what and sold as Indian whisky. Amrut is making whisky, and it's very good".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian whisky</span> Type of distilled liquor produced in Australia

Australian Whisky is whisky produced in Australia. As of December 2021, there were 333 registered distilleries in operation within Australia, of which approximately 50 have a whisky on the market. The industry has shown steady growth since the early 90s especially in the boutique craft distilling scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of whisky</span> Distilled alcoholic beverage

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:

References

  1. "English whisky bottled for first time in a century". BBC News. 10 December 2009.
  2. Rowley, Tom (9 February 2014). "English distillers race to profit from the £4bn whisky boom". The Daily Telegraph .
  3. "English Whisky Company minutes from disaster". Diss Express. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012.
  4. Whisky Review Blog [ unreliable source? ]
  5. http://www.englishwhisky.co.uk Official English Whisky Co. Website[ non-primary source needed ]
  6. Buchanan, Rose Troup (3 November 2014). "'Best whisky in the world' prize won by Japanese single malt for first time as Scottish distilleries lose out" . Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24.
  7. "The English Whisky Company has unveiled new packaging designs for its portfolio, at the same time as rebranding its 'Classic' and 'Peated' expressions". The Spirit Business. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  8. "English Whisky Co releases Malt 'n' Rye". The Drinks Report. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. Japhe, Brad. "The World's Best Single Malt Whisky—According To The 2024 World Whiskies Awards". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-03-24.
  10. Wales, Bethany (November 30, 2023). "The English Distillery releases country's oldest whisky". Eastern Daily Press .