VOA标准英语2010年-Distillery in East Anglia Making Engli

For the first time in more than a century, whiskey is being distilled¹ in England, at a new company in Norfolk in the southeast of the country.

In the British countryside of Norfolk, they're cooking up something they haven't made here for more than 100 years. Whiskey - English Whiskey.

"You have this thought that whiskey's made in Scotland, and most people think, 'Well, whiskey's Scottish,' and you get this link  between the two, but actually, really beautiful whiskey's made everywhere," David Fitt, chief distiller said.

The casks they're using at St. George's Distillery come from the United States.  Fitt says distilling² whiskey in this part of England makes sense.  "We have in East Anglia where we are located, arguably the best malting barley³ in the world, we have water, we have yeast⁴. That's the ingredients you need to make whiskey," he said. "So why hasn't anyone done it? Why does no one do it?"

In fact, barley from here is used in whiskey made in Scotland. But only whiskey made and stored there can be called Scotch⁵.

Opening a new distillery is a long-term investment. It takes a minimum of three years before the product is ready. To boost profits in the meantime, the company offers tours.  Fitt takes potential customers through the basics. "If it's a malt whiskey, you have to use malted barley to make it, it's as simple as that," he explained.

Whiskey wasn't always the honey colored liquid it is today. Fitt says hundreds of years ago it was clear, and rather rough.  High taxes imposed by Britain in the 18th century drove most whiskey distilling underground.   When the taxes were repealed⁶ there was an expansion of production in Scotland and England in the 19th century.  But Scotland's distilleries thrived while the last English one closed in 1880.

Visitors to St. George's can get a chance to taste different kinds of whiskey, to get a sense for what they like.

In the shop, there are caps and shirts, glasses, flasks⁷, even bears, but no English Whiskey.  The first release, about 700 bottles sold out in three hours. They do sell some of what's distilled here, but because it hasn't been in casks for three years, it can't be called whiskey, just spirit.  

"I've had the spirit. I haven't had the whisky yet," Ben Sloane stated. Sloan came hoping to find English Whiskey. "I think the first batch⁸ is all sold out, Hopefully I'll try one of the second ones," he said.

In London, it's no easier to get English Whiskey, says Alex Huskinson, assistant manager of the Whiskey Exchange.  "Since it's been released there's been enormous demand for it. We've seen hundreds and hundreds of people, pretty much constantly," he said.

But just because it's in demand doesn't mean it's good. The Whiskey Centre has a rare bottle stashed⁹ away for one of its staff because it is rare. Its novelty value makes it an ideal collector's item or investment to sell later.

"This is the one I'm going to be sitting on for the next six to seven years, and then selling as an investment," Huskinson said.

But Huskinson says it's too young to be a really good whiskey yet. "The majority of single malt whiskey becomes good at about eight to 10 years. At three years old, it's very tricky¹⁰ to find out whether or not it's actually going to be any good," he said.

There are whiskeys from all over the globe here. Recent tastings have shown selections from India and the Far East rank among the world's best. England's distiller is hoping it too will find a prominent place in the whiskey world.
 

1 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

4 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。

5 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

6 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

7 flasks   

n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The juggler juggled three flasks. 这个玩杂耍的人可同时抛接三个瓶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The meat in all of the open flasks putrefied. 所有开口瓶中的肉都腐烂了。 来自辞典例句

8 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

9 stashed   

v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起

参考例句：

• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她有一大笔钱存在几个不同的银行账户下。
• She has a fortune stashed away in various bank accounts. 她在不同的银行账户上秘密储存了一大笔钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。