England’s whisky scene just graduated. After nearly two decades, a pioneering Norfolk distillery has finally served up an 18-year-old that makes you wonder why anyone ever doubted it…
Ask most people about whisky and the response is instinctive; Scotland, Ireland, perhaps Japan. But England? That usually raises an eyebrow. Yet over the past two decades, a quiet revolution has been taking place south of the border. Dozens of distilleries have sprung up, filling casks with promise. Most must now wait, letting time do its work, while they meet their margins with craft gins. But in Norfolk, one distillery has been playing the long game from the very start.
Back in 2006, when the idea of English whisky sounded little more than eccentric, farmer James Nelstrop built The English Distillery – the country’s first registered whisky distillery in over a century – and filled its inaugural barrel. It was a gamble few thought would pay off. Why should Norfolk barley travel north to be turned into Scotch, he asked, when it could be transformed on its home soil? Nearly twenty years later, that very barrel has yielded a whisky that makes history: England’s first ever 18-year-old single malt.
At the pinnacle is Cask 001, the first cask ever filled. Matured for 18 years in the cool, thick-walled hush of Bond 1, it has been bottled into just 60 hand-blown beautifully etched Norfolk glass decanters, each priced at £3,000. This is whisky not merely as spirit, but as heirloom. On the nose, it opens with vanilla, red fruit and sandalwood, evolving into crème brûlée and fresh strawberries. On the palate, it is indulgent yet composed: caramel richness, stewed apples, seasoned oak. Full-bodied and generous, it leaves a finish that seems reluctant to depart – a dram to linger with, not hurry.
More accessible, though still rare, is the Founders’ Private Cellar 18 Year Old. Drawn from a rum cask and bottled at a punchy 55.4% ABV, it is a warmer, spicier affair: cinnamon and clove underpinned by raisins, tropical boiled sweets, chocolate and a gentle hint of smoke. Released in tribute to James, who passed away in 2014, it is both an homage and a continuation – now shepherded by his son Andrew.
These whiskies are milestones, yes, but also symbols of intent. From the outset, the Nelstrops eschewed gimmicks and fashions. Their goal was straightforward: to make whisky of genuine calibre, however long it might take. In 2024, their patience was vindicated when The English Sherry Cask beat Scotch and Japanese rivals to be crowned World’s Best Single Malt. Now, with this 18-year-old release, English whisky has not only earned its place on the map, but has come of age.
So perhaps the raised eyebrow is no longer deserved. The English distilling dream has matured – quite literally – into a dram worth toasting. To James, to Andrew, and to the unlikely notion that Norfolk might yet sit comfortably alongside Speyside and Islay in the pantheon of world whisky.
Cask 001 is released on 24th September in just 60 hand-blown glass decanters and presentation boxes, priced at £3000 each. The Founders Private Cellar 18-year-old is available now (in only 174 bottle), priced at £395. For more information about The English Distillery, please visit www.englishwhisky.co.uk.
