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England's
only whisky distillery will begin
selling the first ever peated English
malt whisky on Tuesday 8th June.
 "We
are delighted that our peated whisky has
received critical acclaim and we also
look forward to getting feedback from
our customers," said the English Whisky
Company's Managing Director Andrew
Nelstrop, ahead of the release of 2,500
bottles of Chapter 9, which costs £39.99
a bottle.
Chapter 8, which was for sale
pre-release, has already sold out
following the launch by the St George's
Distillery -- the first and only
registered whisky distilling company in
England -- of its first three-year-old
single malt, Chapter 6, in December.
Four years ago Nelstrop's father James
Nelstrop realised a life-long ambition
when he set up a distillery in Norfolk
in eastern England and they are now
starting to reap the rewards of a lot of
hard work, a 2.5 million pounds
investment and a lot of patience.
Small is beautiful for the EWC, which
employs just four full-time staff as
well as 10 part-time workers. There are
10,000 people working in the Scottish
whisky industry.
Targeting a niche market of whisky
connoisseurs, the EWC expects to shift
up to 50,000 bottles this year after
signing a distribution deal with Gordon
& Macphail, having sold 5,000 bottles in
2009.
The Nelstrop family, who have been
farming in Norfolk for generations, has
not been afraid to tap the expertise of
the Scottish whisky industry that is one
of the UK's top five manufacturing
export earners, contributing more than
two billion pounds a year to Britain's
trade balance.
The Nelstrops brought in Iain Henderson,
who worked for the renowned Laphroaig
distillery, for advice, while the EWC's
distillery was built by Scottish firm
Forsyths -- "The Rolls Royce of
distillery makers," according to Andrew
Nelstrop.
To bring in additional revenue, the EWC
also organises distillery tours.
"It is great for Norfolk that we have
such a high-quality new food and drink
business, which is developing a truly
world class reputation," said Lydia
Smith, Team Manager, Norfolk Tourism.
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