English whisky made in Norfolk named best single malt in the world at World Whisky Awards

An English whisky has surprised the global drinks industry by being voted the best in the world.

The English Sherry Cask whisky, made by the English Distillery, based in the Breckland area of Norfolk, beat off competition from across the globe at the World Whiskies Awards in London.

The competition named winners across 23 categories, including single malt, bourbon, blended, rye, pot still, and design -

Mike Fisher, from The English Distillery, said: "We're absolutely over the moon, as you can expect.

"It really, really puts us on the map. All the hard work that the whole team have been doing over the past 18 years has come to fruition."

Bethany Brown, editor of Whisky Magazine, said the distillery had earned the accolade.

She added: "The awards judged about 1,500 whiskies from over 40 countries - of those only 1.5% get to be named the world's best in any category so for an English whisky to have got that far is quite spectacular."

The win has boosted sales for the family-run firm which was founded in 2006.

Mr Fisher added: "As you can imagine the sales of especially that whisky, but also other whiskies in our portfolio, have really, really soared over the last few days and we have had lots and lots of interest from all over the world.

"We already exported to numerous countries around the world, but those countries are obviously demanding lots more stock.

"We've even secured new markets around the world over the last few days that are looking to take our stock over to them."

Judges at the World Whiskies Awards praised the drink for its aromas of rich dark fruits.

Mrs Brown said: "English whisky is now really up and coming, definitely not playing second fiddle to Scotland any more - there are somewhere between 30 and 40 distilleries now.

"To see an English single malt win world's best single malt at the World Whiskies Awards just confirms how much of a strong contender it is on the global stage."

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