SB visits… The English Distillery
In the time it takes for a person to reach adulthood, the English whisky sector has boomed. But it took the birth of the country’s first whisky distillery to kick things off, and we travelled to Norfolk to check it out.
In the early 2000s, the notion of high-quality English whisky was barely even a flutter across the minds of single malt drinkers, with Scotland, Ireland, and a few other countries having long dominated the whisky landscape. But, in 2006, that perception began to change, with the founding of The English Distillery, originally known as St George’s Distillery, in Norfolk.
Founded by the late James Nelstrop, together with his son Andrew Nelstrop, it was built in the heart of Norfolk on an idyllic plot of land that sits directly above a mineral-rich water source.
The Nelstrops are a generational farming family, with roots in grain production and land stewardship in Norfolk that span over six centuries. James had long been struck by the irony that barley grown in Norfolk and the surrounding region was being exported for whisky production north of the border, rather than being used to make whisky in England itself. That led to the ambition to build a whisky distillery on his own farm.
On a visit to the site in July, Andrew shared the story of the brand’s creation with The Spirits Business, while hosting a tour of the distillery that has pioneered an entire category.
It all started, Andrew said, with his father’s ambition to create a world-class single malt whisky. “It was the recurring theme throughout his life – he always brought up making whisky. And it had a tentative start about eight years before we built this one.”
The original plan was to build a distillery on one of the family farms in the neighbouring county of Suffolk, but the dream faced early setbacks due to strict regulations requiring a minimum distillery size of 1,800 meters, which initially discouraged the family from proceeding.
“Then, when he got to about 60, he brought it up again,” Andrew explained, reviving the idea and sketching the first plans for the distillery on an A4 envelope – plans that an architect later formalised. “That was in October 2005, and by January 2006, we had planning permission, which is pretty good – the joy of not having to try and raise funds. And now, we’ve got this.”
At this point, Andrew had brought us into the still house where two copper pot stills reside. These two stills, Andrew said, “were the second set of stills purchased for England – the first set was destined to go to The Lakes distillery, but luckily for us it never happened.” However, his family weren’t aware that that was no longer happening. As such, “there was a race” to set up the first English whisky distillery. “There’s no prize for being the second,” he said.
Construction of the distillery then began in earnest. The early days were marked by a hands-on, pioneering spirit, and the family even slept at the gate to protect the site during construction.
“We started distilling without the doors and windows, so for about three or four weeks, we literally slept in the gate to try and protect the place from burglars. It was a bit of fun. It was only probably a month after we started distilling that either of us actually bothered to ring and see how our competitors were getting on in the Lake District, only to find that had never happened – their stills were sat on a ship waiting for delivery.”
Despite the challenges, production started in autumn 2006, and the distillery soon began filling casks, even as the site was still under construction and surrounded by mud. But it was at this point, Andrew said, that his mother decided the distillery should be opened by someone “more important than me”.
“She said: ‘I’m going to get Prince Charles [now King Charles III] to open it.’ So she wrote to him and got a very nice letter back, saying that it would be a lovely idea, maybe in two or three years – but that’s not something you write to my mother. So she wrote again, this time with Iain Henderson, master distiller at Laphroaig, who had met Charles. They wrote together and said: ‘It doesn’t have to be formal – call in when you’re next at Sandringham’. He wrote back and said he’ll be there in about three and a half weeks.”
At this stage, the site was not fit for a royal visit. “We were tarmacking the entrance on the morning of his arrival. But that was the start, really. That was July 2007.”
Creating a tourism business
Following that, the distillery then opened to the public, which Andrew said was its real saviour. “Most distilleries today open with an income,” he explained, due to the additional production of gin and vodka that they can sell from day one. But, he said, “if you’re just making whisky, you have nothing to sell for three years. We just had a little bit of ‘not yet whisky’ and moonshine. The thing we never imagined was that we don’t actually have a whisky business; we have a tourist business, with a whisky business on the side.”
At the beginning, there was no strict plan – rather, the business evolved organically. They purposefully shunned the use of external agencies, with focus placed on marketing and visitor experiences as much as on whisky production to generate their own PR. They even designed their labels on Microsoft XP – evidence of which can be seen in the distillery archive located within the shop.
The distillery began offering tours and experiences, which quickly became popular. Visitor numbers plateaued at around 40,000-45,000 but then surged to 80,000-85,000 after the site was redesigned to enhance the visitor experience. The whisky shop and tours became central attractions, drawing in large numbers of visitors and creating significant brand awareness.
The Covid-19 pandemic prompted further adaptation, such as leasing out space, but the focus on tourism and visitor engagement remained strong. More consistent success and sustainability were found through tourism, due to the steady flow of visitors, which subsequently helped to build brand knowledge and loyalty.
The distillery is now home to a thriving visitor experience, making it a real tourist destination of the area. Over time, the site has expanded to include restaurants and conference rooms.
In addition, there is a dedicated storage side of the business, as well as contract distilling services for other clients. The distillery also boasts multiple bonded warehouses for maturing whisky, with thousands of casks ageing on site.
Warehouse tour
The tour continued to these bonded warehouses, of which there are now five, following the completion of the latest in January 2025. It was from one of these that we sampled the distillery’s new make spirit, made using barley sourced from the Nelstrop family farms in Lincolnshire as well as local farms in Norfolk. The country is considered one of the UK’s premier barley-growing regions.
The barley is then malted by the renowned Crisps Maltings in Fakenham, Norfolk, and the water – used both for cutting the whisky for bottling and the distillery’s cooling needs – is sourced from the nearby Breckland Aquifer.
The yeast currently used to make the whisky is a dry yeast called Fermentous SAP spirit M1. Previously, a live, fresh bread yeast was used, but the switch was made when the supplier stopped delivering it.
The distillery’s use of different cask types and its unique seasoning processes play a significant role in shaping the flavour profile of its whisky. It primarily uses ex-Bourbon casks from Jim Beam for consistency. Andrew explained these casks impart reliable flavours and are brought in whole to maintain cask integrity, which helps with quicker and more consistent flavour and colour extraction.
Alongside Bourbon casks, a variety of European oak casks that previously held different wines (such as Madeira, Portuguese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Burgundy, and others) are used, as well as Sherry casks, which contribute a range of nuanced flavours.
The distillery also seasons many of its own casks, sometimes using Sherry mixed with whisky to accelerate the seasoning process and ensure the wood absorbs the desired flavours. This self-seasoning approach, often lasting three to five years, allows the team to control the flavour development more precisely.
Andrew noted that the distillery has a keen focus on traceability, ensuring the team knows the full history of each cask in order to maintain quality and consistency in the final product.
Tasting the angels’ share
While the site currently has five warehouses, with more planned, there have been times when space has been limited and temporary storage solutions have been sought elsewhere on site.
“When we were building Warehouse 3, we were a bit late. To get us through, we bought some containers just to store some casks, and they’ve stayed here. Interestingly, because they get hotter, we get a different flavour out of them – and I quite like it actually.”
Due to the tight seal, close quarters and fluctuating temperature, these steel containers also happen to provide a unique and rare opportunity to get a taste of something never tried by The Spirits Business before: the angels’ share.
The angels’ share is the small portion of an ageing spirit that evaporates from oak casks during the maturation process. The porous wood of the cask allows alcohol and water to slowly transpire and evaporate into the atmosphere, affecting the final volume and alcohol content of the spirit.
As the angels’ share is essentially evaporated spirit, it should be technically impossible to try; however, these small spaces have trapped that vapour. As you file in, it is possible to inhale a deep breath and get a taste of that evaporated whisky from the approximately 100 casks that are stored inside. You don’t need to spend a lot of time within these containers to pick up notes of vanilla, fruit and spice-tainted ethanol in the air – and to be honest, you probably wouldn’t want to, either, as we estimated it would likely take less than 10 minutes to feel the effects of the alcohol. Call us old-fashioned, but we’d rather do that the tastier way – by drinking the whisky itself.
Anniversary bottlings
Following a lunch in the on-site brasserie, the tour was rounded off with the pièce de resistance – a guided tasting of some of the distillery’s latest and most exciting releases to date.
Hosted in the barrel-lined Whisky Academy, which can be rented out for events with a capacity of up to 80, Andrew and the distillery’s sales director, Mike Fisher, recapped the history of the distillery, and all of the events that have led up to this year, the distillery’s ‘coming of age’ 18th birthday.
To mark the occasion, The English has released a trio of celebratory single malt whiskies: a limited release Chapter 18, which sees the resurrection of the chapter series; the Founders’ Private Cellar 18 Year Old; and the long-awaited release of Cask 001 – the distillery’s inaugural cask of whisky, which was distilled in 2006, a year before the distillery was officially opened, which launches to market today (25 September).
Cask 001 is an ex-Jim Beam Bourbon cask; however, the liquid from it did not spend its whole life ageing within. Rather, it spent approximately 12 to 18 months ageing in a combined PX and oloroso Sherry cask, before being returned to its original cask for the remainder of its life to date.
For 18 years, the cask has rested low in the cool stone walls of the distillery’s Bond 1 warehouse, just beneath the cask filled by the former Prince of Wales on the day of his visit in 2007.
To honour the unique provenance of Cask 001, The English Distillery partnered with Langham Glass – master glassblowers from Norfolk – to craft hand-blown decanters that reflect the craftsmanship and purity of the spirit they hold, with each designed to be a collector’s piece. Each 700ml decanter weighs approximately 4kg, and retails for £3,000 (US$4,070). Only 60 are available.
The distillery is open seven days a week for the distillery’s Original Tour & Tasting experience, priced at £25 (US$34) per person. However, for those looking for a more in-depth distillery experience, prices rise to £125 per person for the two-hour Create Your Own Whisky Experience, in which visitors can learn how to blend their own 500ml bottle of whisky.
Related news
Mataroa Gin features at Roma Bar Show
