English whisky arrives just in time for winter

As Britain continues to be hit by wind, rain, snow and frost, sales of whisky are at an all-time high. For one small company, the worst winter in 40 years was the perfect time to launch the most unlikely of products: English single-malt whisky.

Norfolk farmer Andrew Nelstrop and his father, James, founded the English Whisky Company in 2005. Now the first bottles of their spirit, St George's, are in the shops.

The whisky is locally produced from East Anglia barley and water from nearby Breckland. St George's is currently being shipped to Japan, Singapore, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Scotland. That's right: Scotland. The home of the world's best-selling whiskies has had to show some respect for this new product from the "old enemy" south of the border. Keir Sword, owner of Royal Mile Whiskies in Edinburgh, reacted positively to the peated and non-peated versions of St George's. "Both should improve over time, and they will be good whiskies," he told The Guardian. Andrew and James Nelstrop plan to produce 200,000 bottles of St George's a year from now on.