Lifestyle-- 9 days ago
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How English whisky found its footing in the Lake District
The Lakes Distillery has spent years honing its craft, culminating in two of its most accomplished single malts to date…
- Words: Jonathan Wells
The Lake District. It’s the greenest, most pleasant pocket of our daffodil-dotted land — and has given us many great things over the years. Kendal mint cake. Cumberland sausages. The lyrical ballads of William Wordsworth. Even, for the last decade or so, fine whisky. And, to borrow a line from the Romantic poet himself: “Well chosen is the spirit that is here”.
Admittedly, Wordsworth was talking about a doomed ship, but the poet’s point still stands. For The Lakes Distillery — and the several choice spirits it produces — are a pioneering prospect, almost as visionary as Wordsworth’s own introspective writings. And, after launching in 2011, the distillery became one of the first and most influential names in England’s modern wave of experimental whisky making.
It was founder Paul Currie who had the winning idea to bring whisky to the windswept Lake District. Scotland may have been the accepted place to distil, but what did he really need to create good spirits? Cold, clean water? Space to store his casks? Old farm buildings, ripe for conversion? Where better, then, than a disused dairy farm five miles north of Keswick, on the northern shores of Bassenthwaite?
And the brand was built in the Lakes, from the Lakes. Slate and cobbles were brought from south Cumbria, sandstone from nearby Penrith. The original Westmorland green slates were renovated for the roof. Everything was sourced from within the National Park, and it was during this period that the quatrefoil — a decorative, four-lobed shape — was discovered in the original masonry, later becoming the symbol of the brand in 2019.
Because The Lakes Distillery, unlike Wordsworth watching his beloved skylarks, has refused to sit still. In the summer of 2024, it was acquired by Nyetimber, the celebrated English sparkling wine producer based in West Sussex. And over the past two years, the label has delivered two standout releases: its first permanent single malt, and a limited-edition expression aged in Oloroso casks. Just in time for Father’s Day, we’re delving into both.
Signature: The Lakes Single Malt is English whisky, elevated
Last summer, innovative whisky maker Sarah Burgess was succeeded at the distillery by Brendan McCarron. But before she returned to her native Speyside, Burgess led the creation of Signature — the brand’s first permanent, sherry-led whisky. It was the culmination of a decade-long journey of flavour development, cask-ageing experiments and the use of a technique traditionally associated with fine wine and cognac: élevage.
It’s a system which involves making intentional changes to location and climate throughout maturation to tease, tweak and nurture desired characteristics in the whisky. That may mean moving the spirit between cask types, combining whiskies from different casks, or even adjusting the environment in which they mature. Whatever alchemy Burgess achieved with this one, the result is a treat. And, at under £100 a bottle, a fine Father’s Day gift.
On the eyes: As with all Lakes whisky, there’s no added colour here. But it’s still plenty handsome — think softly burnished tones, like hazy sunsets, or to pinch another wodge of Wordsworth, “rich with pomp and gold”.
On the nose: Classically sherried, which means unctuous dried fruits, dark chocolate and buttery nuts like pecans or walnuts. Then a lift of orange zest, followed by more tertiary notes of leather and heady oak.
On the palate: More of those dried fruits — sweet sultanas, raisins, figs — alongside juicier, stewed orchard fruits, tempered with a zing of citrus. Deeper still, there are woody notes and a drizzle of dark treacle.
On the finish: A nice, sustained chord of baking spices — allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. In harmony, a reprise of those orange and dark chocolate notes from the nose, with just a whisper of syrup.
The Lakes Velocity is the pinnacle of English whisky making
There are 214 peaks, or ‘fells’, in the Lake District. There are scarcely more bottles of The Lakes Velocity, a premium, limited-edition single malt from the distillery, and part of the aptly named Apex Collection. Only 583 bottles were ever produced, with the whisky once again shaped using the art of élevage — this time with a series of rare, irreplaceable Oloroso casks sourced from some of the world’s oldest sherry bodegas.
Velocity was launched in 2024 alongside Apex Revolución — a Pedro Ximénez-influenced release designed to emulate the rich texture and depth of fine rum. But Velocity is a more sumptuous proposition: deeply perfumed and richly textured. It’s the peak of the distillery’s opulent offerings, and would make a fitting cornerstone for any considered English whisky collection.
On the eyes: Before we get to the liquid, take a look at the lid — that’s the quatrefoil, rendered in all its golden glory. The whisky itself has a similar, if slightly more tawny tone; a coppery edge that hints at its complexity.
On the nose: This one’s all about nuance and depth. Concentrated damson and morello cherry sit on the shoulders of warming winter spices, led by comforting clove. Atop it all, a dusting of decadent dark chocolate.
On the palate: “Silky smooth” may be a cliché, but there’s no better-fitting phrase for Velocity. Petal-soft rose leads into velvety tropical notes of stewed papaya and pineapple, with sleekly polished oak slipping beneath.
On the finish: A lingering sweetness. Soft oak commands the most attention, while spices and stewed fruit gently recur — along with a hint of caramel carried through from that first, silky sip.
Each of the whiskies is its own distinct dram, but both share certain characteristics: created using élevage, aged in sherry casks and distilled in the Lake District. Wordsworth once wrote of the region that “all the babbling brooks are liquid gold” and, while he could hardly have had single malts in mind, The Lakes Distillery makes these words ring true two centuries on.
So, for a final — we promise — piece of poetry, we turn to Wordsworth’s epic poem The Prelude, where another passage unwittingly captures the distillery’s pride and devotion to its native Lake District: “A spirit strong in hope, and trained to noble aspirations. A spirit thoroughly faithful to itself.” We’ll raise a glass to that.
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