The English Whisky Company

Meet Andrew and Kate: The Husband and Wife duo behind The English Distillery

This month, TROY London co-founder Rosie sits down with Katy and Andrew Nelstrop. As the husband-and-wife team behind the award-winning English distillery, their vision reaches far beyond tradition, it’s about heritage and high British craftsmanship. Join us as we delve into how this rural distillery became awarded world wide, how they balance business and life, and why their favourite winter walks say as much about their ethos as the whisky they make.

A small English Distillery from rural Norfolk wins Best Single Malt in the world ...tell us about this win and what is means for you

The award was completely out of the blue, so whilst the companies entire ethos is dedicated to making world class whisky, it doesn’t mean we are going to make a whisky that a panel of judges, all with different preferences would judge better than 1200 whisky from around the world. Winning is a triumph for the work our team do and has really helped spread the word globally about what we do as the pioneers of English Whisky.

How did the idea for creating whisky originally evolve, and what in the landscape contributes to your ability to make such exceptional quality.

My father has always wanted to open a whisky distillery and after a lifetime of farming made it his retirement project. The English Distillery is based at Roudham a small hamlet in Norfolk. Making whisky needs 2 things–plentiful cold water which we have in the Breckland Aquifer beneath the distillery and specific malting barley, luckily Norfolk is home to some of the best growing regions for barley in the world, so being where we are gives us the essential building blocks to create the worlds finest single malts

As a husband and wife team, how do you manage daily roles in the business and what is your favourite way to switch off for family time?

We have quite different roles–Katy does all the marketing and increasingly spends her time running a team dedicated to online presence; this also means she sets the launch schedule for the year which determines the work flow for everyone. I on the other hand do far less and seemingly spend my time dreaming up new ways to spend any profits we make by reinvesting in new maturation warehouses, new stills etc. Mine is the easier job!

What is the best way to really appreciate the flavour of your whisky and how, in the process, do you add the unique taste that won you such impressive accolades.

The best way to enjoy whisky is to drink it however you like and share it with friends. But tasting and drinking are different things-the best way to formally taste the whisky would in my opinion be at room temperature, no ice and a good dash of water. The water opens up the whisky in most cases and allows aromas to flow.

I think every distillery processes are unique and so is their choice of casks and the time spent maturing. The resulting whisky from each cask is therefore uniqueand it is the skills of the distillery team tomarry those casks together to create abeautifully balanced single malt. The customers task is to try lots and work outwhich style of whisky they prefer; there are whiskies for everyone and everyoccasion

What excitements are in store for the coming year?

We have a very exciting project taking shape at the distillery but top secret until late 2026!!

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN

TROY has teamed up with The English Distillery, to bring you the chance to WIN the ultimate British winter warmer bundle worth over £500, so you can wrap up warm, inside and out.

Good Luck!

ENTER HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN