St. George's distillery
Originally envisioned as a micro distillery but as customs and excise wouldn’t consider anything smaller than 1800 litre stills the operation ended up considerably larger and a good thing too as there’s some pretty impressive stuff coming from the distillery! In particular their grains
Although the first distillery in England for over 100 years help was at hand in the form of Ian Henderson (formally of Laphroaig), who lent his expertise to, and helped train up the current manager/distiller/blender David Fitt.
The barley is from East Anglia, while the water comes from the Breckland aquifer, via a 160-foot (49-metre) borehole in the garden. The whisky is matured primarily in Jim Beam bourbon casks, uncoloured, non chill-filtered and hand bottled on site
St. George's factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. George's | English Whisky Company | England | ||
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Active | - Present | Malt | St. George's | Tour Link |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| English Whisky Co Ltd |
St. George's Timeline:
2006: Founded by farmer and businessman James Nelstrop and his son Andrew. The first spirit flows in December
2007: The distillery visitor centre is opened
2009: The first whisky is available for sale
2013: Marks & Spencer launches its own range of English whiskies, sourcing the liquid from The English Whisky Company
2014: James Nelstrop passes away in September
Useful St. George's links:
Interesting St. George's links:
Can I tour St. George's?
Yes St. George's distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 92 of 148 tours to date. This gives St. George's an overall rating of 4.5
Latest reviews
Excellent Tour and Experience
by AndyG6
Well worth the visit and l recommend taking the hour tour and tasting. Previous reviews by Peter and Thomas T give a very accurate reflection of what to expect and matched my experience with Mark as our guide. The tasting afterwards was a real eye opener especially the impact of adding two drops of water to a glass. £15 with a £5 voucher to spend in the shop on a bottle offers excellent value to both Whisky/Non Whisky lovers.
Wonderful Coffee & Cake. We Shall Be Back.
by Raffie C
I live around 25 miles away, so took the bike for a nice spin. I went, mostly for the ride, but a cycling buddy of mine had recommended the cafe for coffee and brownies. They had not been kidding. Excellent coffee and luscious brownies. We could keep the bikes close by.Will go back and take the tour but we had forgotten bike locks so didn’t want to risk leaving them. Popped into the shop, lovely range at good prices. Tasted the Smokey, wow. I shall be back.Even met the head Distiller, who came out for a wee chat about bikes. Lovely man.
Very Sad and Disappointed
by Sandie B
Very poor experience for us. Website for the kitchen says dog friendly but does say on lead. Went with little Yorkshire terrier but was denied access for lunch in May. Was very cold today to sit outside so we left. Do not bother going if you have a dog
| Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 92 |
| Very good | 40 |
| Average | 5 |
| Poor | 8 |
| Terrible | 3 |