The English Whisky Co.'s Sherry Cask expression is part of the core range from St George's Distillery in Norfolk, the distillery founded by the Nelstrop family in 2006. Where the standard Original bottling leans on ex-bourbon casks to showcase the clean Norfolk malt, the Sherry Cask release takes the same spirit and matures or finishes it in ex-sherry casks, drawing out a darker, richer set of flavours.
St George's was built on farmland near Thetford Forest, and the Nelstrops grow much of their own barley within sight of the stillhouse. That short journey from field to grist is audible in the whisky — the malt character is pronounced and clean, the sort of thing Scotch drinkers sometimes forget exists when distilleries buy their grain from a broker. When that malt is laid into sherry oak, the result is a whisky that wears its wine influence warmly without losing its English backbone.
The nose offers dried fig, raisin and walnut oil, with a drift of dark chocolate. On the palate there is sultana, cherry compote and brown sugar, threaded with a savoury toasted nut note that keeps the sweetness honest. The finish is medium-long, drying with cocoa, dark fruit and soft oak spice.
Sherry Cask is The English Whisky Co. in its most approachable guise — a gentle, generous bottling that makes a persuasive case for what a young English distillery can achieve when it lets the casks do their work.
