Archives for September 29, 2023

Established in 2011, The Lakes Distillery is a design-led whisky maker. Pushing boundaries in pursuit of flavour creation, they adopt a modern approach, reframing their craft through a forward-looking lens.

Nestled on the shore of Bassenthwaite Lake, near Keswick, in The English Lake District, the distillery attracts more than 30,000 visitors annually to experience and explore their home; and has held Visit England’s Gold accolade since 2018 – the highest award for excellence in English tourism.

Respecting tradition but refusing to be bound by it, The Lakes Distillery is open to new worlds of inspiration. Drawing inspiration from the art of élevage, not only do they look at what whisky is, they explore what it can become, and it is this approach to maturation and flavour creation that sets them apart.

The journey, so far:

• 2011 – The Lakes Distillery plc was founded by Paul Currie and Nigel Mills CBE.
• 2012/2013 – Renovation of an old Victorian model dairy farm took place to build a state-of-the-art distillery.
• 2014 – New make spirit flowed in the Lake District for the first time on 16 December.
• 2015 – The distillery was officially opened by Princess Anne in July.
• 2016 – Dhavall Gandhi joined The Lakes team to help lay the foundations for a sherry-led signature style.
• 2018 – Genesis, The Lakes’ first single malt whisky, broke three Guinness World Records at auction.
• 2019 – On 7 September, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1 was launched; the first in a series of widely available single malt whisky releases that showcase The Lakes’ sherry-led signature style and The Lakes Single Malt Whisky won Gold at the World Whiskies Awards, the International Spirits Challenge (ISC), and the International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC).
• 2020 – The Lakes was named by The London Stock Exchange Group as one of the “1000 Companies to Inspire Britain”.
• 2021 – The first of a series of whiskies exploring flavour creation was released; The Whiskymaker’s Editions and production capacity at the distillery tripled to 400,000 LPA.
• 2022 – Following a cluster of international honours for their single malt, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.4 was named “World’s Best Single Malt Whisky” in 2022 at the World Whiskies Awards.
• 2023 – Sarah Burgess, former Lead Whiskymaker for The Macallan, joined the business as the new whiskymaker and James Pennefather, former Regional MD at William Grant & Sons, as CEO.