The Lakes The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 5

The Lakes Distillery was founded in 2011 by Paul Currie, who was one of the co-founders of – and set up – the Isle of Arran Distillery. Currie, having worked in whisky for most of his life, says there was never a better time to establish a distillery and founded The Lakes with a mission to craft exceptional spirits capturing the essence of the Lakes District. The property was formerly a run-down 160-year-old Victorian Model Farm, and it’s the only distillery in both a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A stone’s throw from Scotland and nestled on the banks of the River Derwent, The Lakes Distillery houses a pair of custom McMillan stills. Around 80% of whisky at The Lakes sees Sherry cask maturation, and the team follows a process of élevage inspired by Cognac’s cellarmasters – in simpler terms, they describe this as their “multi-cask, multi-Sherry” program.

Instead of the more traditional method of leaving the spirit in a single cask, with or without time spent in another cask for a second maturation, the whiskymaker is proactively involved in every whisky throughout its ageing process. The whiskymaker regularly reassesses the progression of each individual cask and may move the spirit to a new cask type, location, or climate depending on its flavour development. Casks are even blended at various stages to layer flavours and complexity further at every stage. Once deemed mature, each whisky is married for up to year prior to release, to develop a harmony of flavour.

Currie’s team of experts originally included ex-Macallan whiskymaker Dhavall Gandhi, a biochemist with a penchant for innovation. Under the leadership of Paul Currie and the expertise of Dhavall Gandhi, The Lakes Distillery flourished.

In 2019 The Lakes released their first in a seven-part series of Whiskymaker’s Reserve single malts, which were received with acclaim. Lakes call this series a “refined evolution on our journey to define a Sherry-led signature style”, using Oloroso, PX and red wine casks.

The inaugural release brought home a distinguished score of 95/100 from the International Wine & Spirits Challenge in 2020, while No. 2 was awarded gold at the International Spirits Challenge in the same year. Notably, in 2022 The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No. 4 won Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards, cementing the distillery’s reputation on the world stage. In 2023 they released No. 7 in the UK, the last in the series, which in its own right has already been awarded the Grand Gold Medal at the 25th Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.

Contrasting and complementing this house style are The Lakes Whiskymaker's Editions. 

As The Lakes say: “Each Edition is an intentional diversion from our signature style. Pushing boundaries through the art of blending and the use of oak, it is here that we not only look at what whisky is, but what it can become.”

In 2023, former Macallan Master Blender, Sarah Burgess, took the reins from Gandhi as he moved on to pursue his own project. Burgess brings over 25 years of experience, having previously run the ships at both Clynelish and Glenkinchie, and more recently as Lead Whiskymaker at Macallan.

As The Lakes Distillery continues to evolve, the legacy of Paul Currie, Dhavall Gandhi, and their current whiskymaker, Sarah Burgess, lives on in every sip. The Lakes' commitment to excellence, progression and creativity sees them going from strength to strength, and challenging preconceptions through pure product quality.