It has been some time since I’ve published a whisky review. Work and other commitments, like always, have been getting in the way. However my chums, I am back and I have an award winner to waffle on about – The English Distillery Sherry Cask!
Before we go any further, I won’t be linking you to a retailer to buy this bottle at this time. It’s a boutique whisky, so find your local spirit retailer and pop in to see if they have a bottle.
The English Distillery was established in 2007 and can be found in Roudham which isn’t too far from Thetford in Norfolk, England. You may or may not be surprised to know that it’s the oldest registered whisky distillery in England! How that has come to be will be a story for a different blog post, but needless to say, there’s a bit to unpick here… An English single malt whisky? And it has won, what seems to be, a very prestigious accolade? Well my friend, I’m just as flummoxed as you.
Regular readers of this site will know that I mainly review scotch whisky. Why? Because it’s delicious and easily obtainable. I’ve been a bourbon shotter in the past, and I’ve enjoyed the odd Jameson and Coke, but sipping scotch has been my tastebud tingling hobby for some time now. I’ve tried a few Japanese’s whiskies, Irish whiskies and even an Indian whisky and eventually, I’ll write a blog post on most of them. This will be only the third English whisky that I’ve ever tried (from two distilleries). I had a cheeky dram or two of The English Original and it will be a bottle that I’ll add to my collection in the future. I’ll need more time with it before I can give a verdict, but it’s its sister expression that is in the limelight on this spring night.
The English Sherry Cask won World’s Best Single Malt in 2024. Yes, you read that right. World’s best. From England… F****** England!!!?
I have to say that I’m not the most experienced when it comes to sherried whisky. It’s never really been my go to flavour profile, but that’s what excited me to try this bottling. I thought to myself that this could only lead to one of three things: either the World Whiskies Awards were a sham and I’d never trust them again; they are reputable but I just don’t like sherry aged whisky or; I do actually like it after all and I’ve only ever tried drams which have been inferior. Either way, it gives me an evening of entertainment and afterwards I can either enjoy telling everyone I know about this great new whisky, or secretly enjoy ranting to my whisky friends about how it’s crap and they must’ve bought or bribed their way to an accolade. Spoiler alert – it’s not the latter.
The bottling doesn’t carry an age statement, is matured in first fill Oloroso sherry casks, and is bottled at 46%. It is non chill filtered and has no added colouring.
NOSE: Rich and full bodied, Christmas pudding, toffee, raisins, cream and chocolate. There’s a slight candied citrus peel note in there too, but for something that smells quite heavy – there’s a light fresh sweetness to it which is difficult to describe. After adding a couple millilitres of water, a dusty, concrete aroma appears – characteristic of a Campbelltown whisky.
TASTE: A rich, noisy, berry sludge, quite autumnal and very difficult to distinguish flavours. Not too sweet and not too tart. Quite a large alcohol sting. Flavour starts to appear after four or five swallows and it comes in waves. First it’s the raisins, and then those give way to a very slight hint of red grape and pear, then that touch of Campbelltown ‘funk’. There’s a hint of black bean right at the end. A couple of millilitres of water does make it open up and helps to tease out the flavours, but they still remain tightly wrapped.
SUMMARY: For me, this is a whisky that I’d drink in autumn or winter. It’s gathered around a fire, enjoying time with good friends and family. It’s a bit too claggy, busy, and noisy for my normal palate, and it’s not a dram that I would usually gravitate towards. It has reaffirmed my understanding that I’m not a huge sherried whisky guy, and you know what – that’s okay. Whisky is all personal preference. It’s not a bad whisky, it just doesn’t do the dance that well on my tastebuds so comes across a bit boring… That being said, I have come away from the experience feeling pleased. In this day and age I’m, somewhat sadly, used to being disappointed and feeling disgruntled with marketing and awards and in actual fact, I don’t feel that way about World Whiskies Awards. At the same time, I don’t agree that this was the best single malt whisky in 2024. I just think that this dram is, well, a bit boring. I’d be very interested to try their The English Smokey, and even more so when there is an age statement attached to the bottling.
Remember to check out my other reviews here!
5/10
