Beside Bassenthwaite Lake in Cumbria sits a distillery in a converted 1850s farmstead, with the River Derwent just outside and the fells behind. The Lake District is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and that is the landscape which ends up in the bottle.
Expert description
The Lakes Vodka is an English Vodka from The Lakes Distillery in Cumbria, distilled once from British wheat in a copper pot still and bottled at 40%.
Please note: the bottle is delivered in the house red gift box, made to a solid standard and ready to be handed on as it is.
A single distillation is an unusual choice for a vodka. Most producers run the distillate through a column again and again to end up as neutral as possible, but here it stays with that one pass through a handmade copper pot still. In exchange, time is taken over it, and the wheat is allowed to remain in the distillate.
It is therefore not an empty vodka. There is a clear, soft sweetness from the grain and a mouthfeel fuller than the strength suggests. The water comes from the distillery's own home inside the Lake District National Park, and the colour is natural.
The bottle follows the house design, the same one you know from its gin and whisky: a plain cut, heavy shoulders, no unnecessary decoration. The gift box is red and well made, and it is the reason this particular version is easy to pass on without further wrapping.
Tasting notes
Nose
Clean and almost neutral. A pale grain note with a hint of freshly baked bread.
Palate
Soft and lightly sweet. The wheat fills the middle, and a kick of white pepper appears at the side of the tongue.
Finish
Short and clear. The sweetness disappears quickly and leaves a dry, clean impression behind.
Specifications
Name: The Lakes Vodka
Distillery: The Lakes Distillery
Region/Country: Cumbria, England
Type: English Vodka
ABV: 40%
Size: 70 CL
Distillation method: Distilled once from British wheat in a copper pot still
EAN no.: 5060307840186
Serving suggestion: Ice cold in a small glass, or in an Espresso Martini as the distillery itself recommends.
Flavour profile
Clean · Soft · Lightly wheat-sweet · White pepper
Did you know?
The Lakes Vodka was named the world's best vodka at the World Vodka Awards in 2019. The judges described it as very clean on the nose with a little sweetness and a peppery kick at the side of the tongue, recognition an English distillery founded in 2014 had no right to expect so quickly.
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