The Lakes distillery Founders bottles 1 & 2 yr old

founders bottles
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2,975 Founder’s Club members are on a journey of maturation and discovery. Receiving 10 exclusive whiskies over 10 years – each drawn from the earliest casks produced at the distillery – they have a unique opportunity to experience how the character and flavour of The Lakes Spirit is evolving over time.

These were tasted as part of our Whiskey chaps Founders tasting of bottles 1-6 yrs of age, and the Whiskymaker #4 with @GentlemanGrimm from Twitter and Instagram, who very kindly gifted us the samples.


Founders bottle 1 yr old 40 % ABV

Appearance

Obviously this is really light in colour, but definitely detectable, it has a pretty thick swirl line too, with medium to thick slow legs. #thewhiskeychaps

Nose

Vanilla custard with a slight botanical feel, obviously the New Make Spirit is going to be strong but that cask has already done quite a bit of work hasn’t it.#thewhiskeychaps

Palate

Now that’s interesting, I got lemonade there, it’s almost Smokey too, chocolate at this age, red berries, tropical fruits #thewhiskeychaps

Finish

Quite punchy, plenty of oak, mocha, grapefruit, pineapple, a touch of chilli and cough candy. Overall quite a young spirit. #thewhiskeychaps

My thoughts

Having no personal experience with the crafting of whisk(e)y, this tasting was very much about learning something, to see what happens with a maturing spirit over time.

Though this spirit didn’t take on much colour wise in the first year it did take on plenty of flavour, and to be honest it’s quite impressive. I found much more than i expected. The New make spirit flavours are still discernible, and the cask influence also, bringing in definite bitter notes to the late palate and finish.


Founders Bottle 2 yr old 40% ABV

Appearance

Again very light, but definitely another detectable colour shift. The swirl line is syrupy thick, as are the legs. #thewhiskeychaps

Nose

Quite a bit more wood for an extra year, the smokiness has gone and now I’m getting a menthol aroma, still cereals and grains but more red fruits now. #thewhiskeychaps

Palate

Definitely more citrus sharp now, and also more bitterness too. Seared pineapple chunks and pomelo will describe this for me, lemonade again, then dark chocolate, and at 40% ABV I’d even say syrupy. #thewhiskeychaps

Finish

Medium long, slowly becoming more bitter, but far from the point of face crunching. Rather nice in all honesty. #thewhiskeychaps

My thoughts

From 1 to 2 years the difference is easily detected. The range of fruits, especially on the palate, has changed, and the bitter notes have deepened for me at this point. The cask influence is so interesting, and though not what i would have guessed it continues to flood the spirit. where will it be in the 3 year old bottle?


A huge thank you goes out to @GentlemanGrimm for these tasting sets, i’m sure i’d never have gotten to taste them otherwise.

Feel free to give @GentlemanGrimm, the Lakes distillery and us on Twitter using the buttons below, thank you

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