Drawn exclusively from the first 100 casks of whisky ever produced at The Lakes Distillery over 10 years. These bottles are limited to the members of the ‘Founders Club’ at the distillery.
Appearance: Clear. Decent viscosity, a good oily film on the glass with thin to medium legs.
Nose: Quite ‘agricultural’ upfront. Hay and corn spring to mind, as does cut grass. For a 1-year-old, I’m surprised by how little presence there is of that new-make berry note we see so much.
Sweet cereal notes too. Those Crunchy Nut Cornflake aromas, that are very pleasant on the nose. There’s definitely already a cask influence easily detectable.
As this glass sits, the sweeter notes are starting to appear. Now there’s a Summery berry note along with some citrus notes, orange more than lemon.
Palate: On the palate, I get an initial sweet, almost cake-like note, then some mild mint. The ABV keeps the spice quite suppressed and there is a slight ‘wateriness’ to it. Maybe some bitterness too. Traditional lemonade sharpness.
The cornflake note is a constant here, adding a malty/honey-like sweetness. A bit like the milk at the bottom of the bowl of cereal.
Finish: The finish for me is more of the slightly diluted sweetness, honey and vanilla. A touch of spice tries to come through and I sense a smokiness, rather than actually taste it.
Overall: This would be a great new-make if it were a higher ABV. At 40% the watery element is slightly offputting. That said the sweet cereal and citrus notes are interesting and very pleasant.
