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THE ENGLISH WHISKY COMPANY |
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WTC has pursuaded the English Whisky Company to let us have the last of their stock of their recent releases so we can offer you this exclusive chance to try five different expressions for just £25 plus £2.95 P&P, Stock is very limited! |
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The English Whisky Company is housed within St. George's distillery, which itself is situated in Roudham, as small village just off the A11 about 10 miles south of Norwich. The distillery became operational in November 2006 and is the brainchild of local farmer James Nelstrop and his son Andrew, who see the distillery as a natural extension of their husbandry of the land. "We've been a family of farmers for 600 years. It's like planting a wood, one day a generation of the family will benefit. If you want an immediate return this would never work for you."
The distillery is set in attractive grounds and is well worth a visit, not least for the excellent whisky shop and pleasant café. The copper stills and distilling equipment were designed and made by Forsyths of Rothes, who have been servicing the whisky industry since the late 1800’s. The malted barley used in the whisky comes from Norfolk, the water from the local Breckland aquifer and the yeast from a supplier in Hull.
St. George’s is very much an artisan distillery and they take pride in following the best production procedures. Award-winning master distiller Iain Henderson (formerly master distiller of Laphroaig) oversaw initial production. David Fitt – formerly of Greene King - took over in July 2007 as master distiller. You can read an interview with David Fitt below. WTC have been keen fans of St. George’s since it was first built, and we had a memorable tasting of the work in progress at the distillery in 2007. We were amazed at how fast the spirit was maturing, and England’s first whisky in over 100 years was bottled in December 2009 at just three years old. To date St George’s distillery has released Chapters 1 to 10. The Whisky Tasting Club has four releases for you to try, called Chapters 6, 7, 9, and 10.
Spirit must be matured in oak casks for a minimum of three years to be called Whisky, and Chapter 6 was the English Whisky Co.’s first general release that met this requirement. Launched at the end of 2009, Chapter 6 is unpeated and has matured in ex-Jim Beam bourbon barrels. It is, of course, young and immature, but maturation is faster in the east of England than it is in Scotland and even at three years there are a few feisty, cerealy notes. Whilst not complex, this fruity whisky has all the signs of a major malt in the making.
Tasting notes:
Nose: As it should be: a wet Norfolk summer's day during harvest, clean, fresh, warming, cereally and sappy.
Palate: Young, clean and fresh, but with a nice balance between sweet and sour and between fresh barley and an emerging influence of wood. Like listening to a teenage musical virtuoso, performing well above its weight but not ready to join the biggest stars just yet.
Finish: Short and without great depth, but pleasant and blemish-free. Well in credit.
This can be bought direct from St. George's for £34.95, and is at the time of writing on special offer at £ 32.95 at Whisky Online.
For further discussion see our English Whisky Co. Chapter 6 forum.
The unpeated Chapter 7 spent two years in ex-Jim Beam bourbon casks and the last year of its maturation in a rum cask. The sharp-eyed among you will note that Chapters 8 and 9 came out before this one. That’s because distiller David Fitt didn’t think it was ready back in May. Dominic tasted it then and wasn’t sure he was right, but boy has he been vindicated. This release was limited to 660 bottles. The distillery shop has sold out, but there are still some available at specialist online retailers.
Tasting notes:
Nose: Still young and the nose is laced with barley, but there’s a creeping sweetness settling in, some sugar cane, honey and treacle, and developing sweet fruit.
Palate: Delightful sweet pear and apple, but not dominant yet, and barley remains to the fore. Still quite Lowland in character, there are flashes of fauna and flora, and wisps of rum and raisin.
Finish:: Short, refreshing and with a very gentle but welcome touch of spice.
St. George's have sold out of Chapter 7, but at the time of writing some online retailers still have stocks. For example, The Whisky Exchange have it for £50.95.
For further discussion see our English Whisky Chapter 7 forum .
Released in June 2010, this was the first St. George’s peated single malt whisky generally available. Drying the barley with peat smoke adds phenols, which impart the distinctive peat flavour of whisky. The peatiness of whisky is measured in phenols parts per million (ppm). Although labelled as lightly peated, Chapter 9 is peated at 32 ppm. To put that in context, the lowland malt Auchentoshan is peated around 2ppm, Highland Park at around 20 ppm and Ardbeg at 55 ppm. Despite the relatively high phenol level, the peat flavour is not at all overpowering.
Tasting notes:
Nose: A shy and retiring nose with wispy smoke and summer hay.
Palate: First wave is creamy honey and sweet apple with a delayed healthy hit of peat. This gives way to a Liquorice Allsorts flavour, the round blue and pink bobbly ones, you know the ones I mean.
Finish: Surprisingly and amazingly well integrated, the finish gives toffee apples, a bit of pepper and a touch of wood. It’s short to medium long and very pleasant.
This can be bought direct from St. George's for £39.95 and is at the time of writing on special offer at £ 37.50 at Whisky Online.
For further discussion see our English Whisky Chapter 9 forum .
This whisky has been fully matured for a shade over 3 years in sherry hogsheads. Limited to 790 bottles, the distillery shop has sold out, but there are still some available at specialist online retailers. One of our regulars tasted it at the 2010 Whisky Show in London and thought it one of the best whiskies there! If you like sherried whisky this one is definitely for you.
Tasting notes:
Nose: Sharp and quite vinegary at first. Rootsy, intense and autumnal. It softens with time.
Palate: Full and rich drying sherry, with dried berries, currants and prune. The fullest flavoured English whisky so far.
Finish: Dried fruit and liquorice stick. Burnt treacle. Medium long but longest finish from this distillery so far. Still obviously young, but delightful and striding forwards. Onwards and upwards!
St. George's have sold out of Chapter 10, but at the time of writing some online retailers still have stocks. For example, The Whisky Exchange have it for £50.95.
For further discussion see our English Whisky Chapter 10 forum .
Chapter 11 is heavily peated (55ppm) and comes in two guises: cask strength (59.7%) and regular (46%). It is about three years old, and a real peat freaks dram. Dominic called it "a perky peaty peppery powerhouse and definitely premier league".
Tasting notes:
Nose: Cream and Jamaican ginger cake with aniseed and white pepper.
Palate: A gentle giant, creamy and clean barley at first, then the peat and pepper slowly build and fill every corner of the mouth without becoming overpowering.
Finish: Soft and lightly peppered.
You can buy the Chapter 11 for around £46 from the whisky exchange