The Lakes is an English malt whisky distillery founded in 2011 by a group of investors led by Paul Currie, who was a co-founder of Arran distillery with his father Hal back in the early 1990s. The distillery was constructed in restored Victorian farm buildings at the edge of Bassenthwaite Lake, and began production in 2014. Paul Currie stepped down from the board of The Lakes at the end of 2020 but remains as a consultant.

Founded: 2011

Stills: 1 Wash 1 Spirit 1 Gin

Water Source: Lake District National Park

Capacity: 400,000 Litres

Owners: The Lakes Distillery Company plc

The Lakes is a multi-purpose distillery, making gin and vodka alongside single malt whisky to help with cashflow in their early years. The Lakes Distillery’ first single malt, named Genesis, appeared in 2018. 

The Lakes Distillery has attracted over £30m in investment since the company was founded in 2011. Following a cash injection from a capital investment group in 2020, the distillery was expanded with the addition of extra washbacks, tripling capacity to around 400,000 litres per annum

The Lakes’ single malts have enjoyed conspicuous recent success, with former whiskymaker Dhavall Gandhi masterminding a sherry-focused flavour ethos - over 80% of the distillery’s spirit is filled to sherry casks. Gandhi created several award-winning whiskies for the distillery, most notably in early 2022 when The Lakes Whiskymaker's Reserve No.4 stunned the whisky world by scooping the top prize of World’s Best Single Malt Whisky at the World Whisky Awards. 

Dhavall Gandhi left The Lakes around the same time to found his own whisky creative studio, but remains a consultant to the distillery, which has since announced further rounds of fundraising with a view to additional future expansion.