What you need to know:

• Cumbria-based UK distillery, Lakes Distillery, is collaborating with Harvey Nichols on a new bottle as part of their Whiskymaker’s Edition, which is where their experimental whiskies will be chucked (away from their traditionally Sherry-led style)
• The new bottle, titled, Le Goûter, Lay-Goo-Tay, inspired by treasured memories of wonderful anticipation and taste sensations created on childhood cake shop excursions.
• Goûter is French "high tea" that typically involves cakes, crepes and sweet pastries.
• It has notes of notes of crème anglaise and jasmine, plus a touch of pear, citrus zest and freshly baked madeleines.
• We like the label.

(Image Source: Lakes Distillery

The Cumbria-based UK distiller, Lakes Distillery, is a relatively young distillery, having only been founded in 2011 and only began releasing whiskies the past few years. While much of its whisky is still too young to make serious assessments about their quality, they have been very well received with mostly positive reviews. 

Lakes Distillery produces Gin, Vodka as well as both Blended Whiskies and Single Malt Whiskies. The One Whisky Collection was the first to make its debut under the Blended Whiskies range, with a full suite of cask-finished whiskies, from Moscatel to Orange Wine, all the way to the more conventional Sherry and Port cask-finished whiskies.

Now Lakes is turning their focus to their Single Malt range, with the Whiskymaker’s Edition, the latest of which is Le Goûter, pronounced Lay-Goo-Tay.

Le Goûter was inspired by treasured memories of wonderful anticipation and taste sensations created on childhood cake shop excursions. Making a curiously cake-inspired whisky. Now have we heard of something with a similar ring?

Le Goûter is actually derived from the French verb, goûter, which means to taste. It is sort of the French's idea of high tea, or a midday snack that is consumed before dinner and usually involves sweet cakes and pastries.

It is a one-off release in partnership with Harvey Nichols with only 306 numbered bottles and bottled at 49.5% abv.

Tasting Notes:

Fragrant jasmine and crème anglaise swirl into hints of pear, citrus zest and freshly baked madeleines.  

Drawn in by comforting vanilla, a lightness of touch reminiscent of alluring aromas of freshly baked confections dancing on warm afternoon air entice you towards the source.

Sounds fancy.

This is the second release in the Whiskymaker’s Editions range, following the release of a Colheita Port-cask finished Single Malt.

The goal behind the collection is for Lakes to demonstrate its creativity outside of its typical Sherry-forward style.

For the Le Goûter limited bottling, the distillery employed the talents of artist Eili-Kaija Kuusniemi to design its label.

Our Take:

The past couple of years there’s been a huge wave of distilleries opening for business and that can be overwhelming to enthusiasts (though I would counter, wineheads don’t seem to have an issue naming the 6,000 vineyards dotting the Bordeaux).

One may find it difficult to identify who is worth following and who isn’t, which is where we come in. 

Lakes Distillery is located in North West England, with a gorgeous natural backdrop. (Image Source: The Spirits Business)

Why should we care about the Lakes? Well here’s why they are worth keeping on your radar: they are part of a broader wave of craft distilleries originating from England. Some of which includes Bimber and Cotswolds, both of whom have received glowing reviews as well (interestingly similar to what is happening in Japan).

Many of these distilleries are fairly small in operations compared to their Scotch counterparts, and so one might find them alittle more unique and idiosyncratic, very much reflective of their founders’ preferences.

Look at the concentration, that's how I look like when I'm squeezing last bit of the toothpaste out just nice.

In this case, Lakes’ head distiller, Dhavall Gandhi, has a serious focus on making artisanal whisky that is holistic – which means him being involved in every step of the process. His goal is to make whisky that is light, elegant and fruity. 

They’ve taken lessons from everywhere including the Cognac and perfume industry in shaping their whisky production methods, creating practices like the use of different combinations of yeast strains and doubling fermentation times to create a more complex flavor.

Consequently, they may be one of an innumerable wave of new distilleries, but they have certainly embraced the start-up credo of “move fast, break things”, which yields lessons for them that they can take forward as they continue to establish themselves.

For now, can’t we just take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous label? How we wish we could travel to a cake shop in Paris…

Kanpai!

@111hotpot