Founder of the English Whisky Company dies
James Nelstrop, founder and chairman of the English Whisky Company, has died at the age of 69 after a short battle with cancer.
James Nelstrop (left), founder of the English Whisky Company, has died.Nelstrop set up the Norfolk-based English Whisky Company and St George’s Distillery – England’s first whisky distillery in over a century – in 2006.
His family issued a statement to the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press claiming that Nelstrop felt a “sense of achievement” in founding “an entire national industry”, while his son Andrew, managing director of the English Whisky Company, described him as a “larger than life” character.
In February this year, Andrew Nelstrop (pictured right) told The Spirits Business he believed here will be a steady rise in the production of English whisky over the next few years, a development which could “show customers there’s more out there than just Scotch”.
It was announced in November last year that Marks & Spencer would be stocking its own brand of English whisky, a liquid sourced from the English Whisky Company.
James Nelstrop is survived by his wife Barbara, daughter Lizzie, son Andrew and four grandchildren.
