Dhavall Gandhi is their whisky maker, “The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1” by the way is an artistic exploration of maturation and blending; of flavour evolution and defining a sherry-led house style. We were lucky, we had samples for our delicate taste buds sent to us from the kind folks at the distillery. I was just about to smack this round my gums, when I thought of an alternative; I had guests on tour with me, all the way from California, why not ask them to try it and give me their thoughts … this is what we did. So what did our guests think?

Veronica and Bob fae San Francisco ; strong and delicious, would sell well in USA, sherry/wine taste, they both thought it was wonderful, Bob with a drop of water, veronica neat. This dram was powerful; illegal in Norway @ 60.6% a stunner, I really liked it, saying something from me for a below the border dram. A single malt, full bodied matured in PX and red wine casks American, French and Spanish oaks, non chilled, like Highway Star; Deep Purple – a long finish!

To add to the blog … The Lakes Distillery celebrates their first single malt selling out, by releasing The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.2.

Following the sale of all 5,992 individually numbered bottles of their first widely available single malt whisky in just five weeks, The Lakes Distillery has unveiled the second release in The Whisky maker’s Reserve series.The Whisky maker’s Reserve No.2 has evolved in keeping with The Lakes’ increasing sherry-cask influence. Without an age statement, The Whisky maker’s Reserve No.2 is a new, intense and robust single malt, bottled at cask strength – 60.9% ABV – and matured in the finest, meticulously sourced PX, red wine and bourbon casks. With only 4,788 bottles available in the UK, the nose is rich and complex with dry fruits and treacle, creamy layers of wood spice, comforting vanilla on the palate, and a long and luxurious finish. Non-chill filtered for a richer mouthfeel and fuller flavour, each bottle uses only the natural colours derived from the oak casks. Released on the 17th October, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.2 has a suggested retail price of £65 and can be bought from www.LakesDistillery.com where you can also discover more about The Lakes’ holistic approach to whisky-making.

WHEN ONE BECOMES THREE

The One Signature Blend is a new blended whisky from The Lakes Distillery. The last time I was doon there was a few years back now, with Liz on a day trip with an overnight, we don’t venture doon into Saxon land too often. This signature expression has The Lakes Single Malt at its heart, together with select Scotch grain and malt whiskies from the Highlands, Speyside and Islay.  A complex and balanced whisky with hints of stone fruit, light spice and honey-roasted nuts (not I might add Nobby’s Nuts). Bottled at 46.6% ABV, it is non-chill filtered with natural colours derived from the oak casks. Released on Monday 30th September, the recommended retail price is £39 and it can be bought from www.LakesDistillery.com. Where do you find this distillery?  Bassenthwaite Lake, near Keswick, in The English Lake District, it currently attracts over 100,000 visitors each year. Twice named ‘one of eight distilleries to visit before you die’ by the World Whisky Day campaign, the visitor centre, bistro and tour holds the Visit England’s Gold accolade and was voted the Icons of Whisky Visitor Attraction of the Year 2019 by Whisky magazine. Well, we would suggest making your own mind up there, everyone who reads my blogs will know, my thoughts on awards.