Best English Whiskies

English whisky is generally thought of as something of a new idea but nothing could be further from the truth, when Alfred Bernard released his famous Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom in 1887 he included 4 English distilleries. The last of these to close was Lea Valley Distillery in 1903.

Happily there are now 14 whisky distilleries spread across England, and while only 3 already have single malt whisky available for sale, the rest are getting underway. Despite the relative disparity (Scotland already has over 120 distilleries actively producing and more on they way) English whiskies are punching above their weight and carving out a name for themselves. We’ve pulled together the best of the best to show you how England is giving Scotland a run for its money

Adnams Rye Malt Whisky

0 out of 5

0 reviews

An English Rye whisky, yeah you heard me! This is a soft, dry and spicy rye with a crisp finish, not superbly complex but well rounded and a nice malt note (from thje 75% rye and 25% malted barley mash bill). A truly English spirit as the whiskey is made from rye grown within a mile of the distillery in Suffolk County. Although officially a no age statement we know that this Rye whiskey from Adnams has matured for at least five years in new French oak barrels prior to bottling. How about that?

Our best price: £39.99

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Gullivers 47

5 out of 5

1 reviews

This English single malt is distilled from Concerto two-row local-grown barley in Norfolk at the St George's Distillery, exclusively for Samuel Gulliver & Co. The eponymous Gulliver was an adventurous spirit merchant of the 18th century and Gulliver's 47 celebrates his adventures in 1747. Matured in hand selected bourbon barrels, this expression is bottled at 47% abv. It's a fantastic example of the versatility of the distillery and well worth trying

Our best price: £57.97

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The English Original English

4 out of 5

4 reviews

The original is the flagship of the St George's distillery collection, matured in hand selected bourbon casks, bottled at 43% without chill filtration or spirit caramel. Incredibly smooth, very easy drinking this should absolutely be your starting point on your English whisky journey

Our best price: £36.83

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The English Small Batch Rum Cask Matured

4.5 out of 5

2 reviews

Rum casks have become the go to vacation spot for experimental whiskies in the last few years, often to pretty poor results, not so with this beauty! The St George's distillery has been picking up quite a reputation in recent years, and this small batch release is no exception, look for green apples, mango and apricot, walnuts, waxy orange and lingering vanilla. And look quickly, as with all English whisky releases there is only a very small amount available (which is why they can get away with hand-filling).

Our best price: £51.95

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The Norfolk Parched Single Grain English Single Grain Whisky

0 out of 5

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You think you know grain whisky? Think again, David Fitt master distiller at the English whisky company has created a masterpiece. As Dave began life as a brewer he pays more attention to grain than most. Parched, the third of his 'grain whisky made in a pot still' line up, is perhaps the best example of what a grain whisky can be when care is taken over the grains, the whisky is made slowly and maturation happens in a decent cask. Absolute mastery you'd be a fool to miss it!

Our best price: £46.45

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The English Smokey English

4 out of 5

6 reviews

The English Smokey is the other of the two distillery staples, while lacking the unadulterated stregnth of the distilleries single cask expressions the smokey is peated to a cracking 45ppm so should appeal to your Islay fans. It's my personal favourite of the core range taking the smooth sweetness of the Original and upping the game with an oily mouthfeel and sweet peat smoke that brings out the herbaceous notes I'd missed before. Islay beware!

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Sacred Peated English Whisky

0 out of 5

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Sacred Whisky is made by taking Whisky that is being matured in Bourbon Barrels and finishing it off in Pedro Ximenez sherry Hogsheads ! A Nutty and Sweeter flavour profile run throughout makes this a truly deep and very satisfying single malt. Log-fire smoke from a country pub, sea salt, dried pineapple, clove spice, sweet vanilla and Christmas cake! Think Lagavulin 12 with the sherry dialed up to 11

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The Norfolk Malt ‘N’ Rye Single Grain English Single Grain Whisky

0 out of 5

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As the name suggests, this release from the English Whisky Co. is a blend of malt and rye whiskies. The result is a rich and oily whisky with notes of milk chocolate, orange and lemon thyme. This is the follow upo to the phenomenal Farmers single grain that Jim Murray awarded European Whisky of the year. Sadly that expression is all but impossible to find happily we still have the Malt 'n' Rye, for now... This is one of only 1962 bottles ever made

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Cotswolds Founder’s Choice 2019 Release (60.4%) English Whisky

0 out of 5

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The 2019 release of Cotswolds Distillery’s Founder’s Choice single malt has been matured exclusively in shaved, toasted and recharred Americal oak red wine barriques. The result is a phenomenal fruity and rich whisky with butterscotch, toffee, raspberries and red apples, rich oak spices tobacco and a long nutty finish. Given the price tag you'll struggle to find a better English whisky for less

Our best price: £63.38

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Cotswolds Single Malt

4.3 out of 5

37 reviews

The Cotswolds distillery was Englands second single malt whisky distillery, production began in 2013 and the first whisky was released in 2017. The distillery only uses Odyssey barley grown on farms in the local area, the barley is malted on the oldest floor maltings in Britain in Warminster, Wiltshire. It is ground in the distillery. Mashing and fermentation using two complementary yeast varieties - Anchor and Fermentis take four days, being distilled into copper pot stills by Forsyths. Matured in ex-bourbon and reconditioned red wine casks. Some have argued that the St George's distillery has already been surpassed. We're not sure we'd go that far but the Cotswolds single malt is truly superb

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