The newest English whisky to join our spirits range comes from one of England’s most northerly distillery. Situated at the site of a renovated Victorian model farm in Cumbria’s Lake District National Park, the distillery sits a mere 40 minute car journey from the Scottish border.
The Lakes Distillery
Beginning production in 2014, the Whiskymaker’s Reserve is now into batch No. 5 after batch No. 4 was named The World’s Best Single Malt at the World Whisky Awards earlier in 2022.
The distillery’s signature style is described as “heavily sherried” with both Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks playing a major role in the maturation program. Despite its richness however, I find that there remains a sense of elegance and purity to this whisky, particularly on the palate. Needless to say, fans of Macallan, Glenfarclas and Glendronach should certainly be taking note of activities south of the border.
Our Listings
Take a look below for tasting notes for the Lakes Distillery whiskies now available at The Oxford Wine Company.
Whiskymaker’s Reserve Batch #5 – 52% abv
Released in April 2022 this batch has certainly generated a lot of excitement. At 52% abv and, having been matured in a combination of Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez and red wine casks, it certainly doesn’t shy away from the punch.
In terms of flavour profile it’s, as you can imagine, packed with caramel werther’s original notes, red apples, lashings of stewed fruits, vanilla and dried figs. On the palate there’s a prickle on the tongue before everything gets coated in sherried notes. The finish goes on for miles.
Whiskymaker’s Edition: Mosaic – 46.6% abv
The Mosaic is a diversion from the distillery’s sherry lead house style. Instead, this whisky is lighter in style and exhibits some really interesting spice notes; think macadamia nuts, dried currants, dark chocolate and wood spice. There’s also a healthy whack of cooked apple and enough of a sherry note to remind you its Lakes whisky that you’re drinking.
Released in February 2022, this is another limited edition run demonstrating the diversity of options this distillery can produce.
The One Fine Blended Whisky – 46.6% abv
A whisky to demonstrate the blending prowess of this distillery at a price that serves as a fantastic introduction to the Lakes house style. The blend here is comprised of a majority percentage of Lakes whisky along with a selection of whiskies sourced from north of the border.
While the sherried component is once again more than evident in the construct of this whisky, the subtle addition of a peated malt adds complexity and a real point of difference.
