Showcasing the best of the Lake District, Reflections is a collaboration with fellow Lakes resident chef/patron Simon Rogan. Together we celebrate, not just past achievements but also the possibilities that lie ahead. Respectful of Simon’s ethos, Reflections is guided by earthly connections, grounded by a sense of place and stimulative of deep contemplation at meaningful moments in time. Restrained, elegant and light, but also incredibly vibrant, Reflections is autumnal Lakes in character, with spiced pumpkin and fragrant woodspice evolving into apple compote and warming cinnamon and a long, reflective finish.
The Lakes Distillery
Appearance
Deep gold with an orange hue in colour, with a nice thick swirl line. It coats my Glencairn glass and drops several thick legs.
Nose
On first nosing, I’m finding orange rind and marmalade, evergreen timber/wood shavings and it has a dusty feel to it. It is said to have spiced pumpkin, yes I can definitely get that, along with apricot and peach pastries.
More time and royal icing sweetness comes through. The wood is quite aromatic and reminds me of fruit salad kids’ sweets. On the nose it comes across as warming and gently spicy, let’s see what the palate has to offer.
Palate
The mouthfeel is very nice, quite syrupy, and the palate is where Lakes whiskies really shine.
It is warming and initially gently spicy as I thought, the orange aromas come through on the palate too, perhaps blood oranges now, and they’re stewed with other fruits. Apricots, raisins, red cherries, some anise and cinnamon with baking spices. I can imagine them all chopped up and baked ready to become a pie filling.
Those spices develop into figs and cloves eventually, accompanied by black coffee with cherry syrup, and cigar leaves also come through towards the end.
Finish
The finish is the long side of medium in length, though the spices do last longer, and the spiciness has become stronger now. Chilli heat, chocolate dipped strawberries, cranberries, hotter cinnamon and it stays warming right up until it finally fades.
My thoughts
I’ve been lucky enough to taste 15 whiskies from the Lakes distillery including this bottling, and they constantly impress me. It has to be said that Dhavall Gandhi certainly understands casks, and the variety of woods and maturation types they come in.
The fruity spicy nature of this whisky is right up my street, the spices slowly build, right through to the finish, and it develops perfectly too, in my opinion. This is another Whiskymakers Edition that I’d love to have in my whisky cupboard, may there be many more to come.
Bottle image courtesy of whisky.com.
For transparency – This sample was kindly sent to me by The Lakes Distillery, this will not affect my review in any way.
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