Love Letters from Britain is a new series of short documentary-style films uncovering the untold stories of UK’s most innovative luxury brands, produced for Walpole by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions and including stories supported by the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland campaign.
Please click here to watch the full series.
To find out more about the project and The Lakes Distillery's involvement, we spoke with the brand's Communications Manager, Steve Gibson.
What was your motivation for taking part in the Love Letters from Britain series?
As a whiskymaker, we respect the traditional whiskymaking process but are open to a world of other influences. Innovating to create flavour at every stage, we are not only looking at what whisky is but what whisky can be and, as a comparatively new single malt whisky brand, the opportunity to tell this story to a global audience and be among such illustrious company is something we are hugely excited about.
Tell us more about your film and the stories that are being shared?
Whiskymaking in its highest form is a dance between science and art, control and creativity. It necessitates being sensitive to what the distillery wants to do, how the climate affects the conversation between oak and air and spirit, and flowing new ideas around this frame. Our film is the story of a whisky brand that is striving to add something new to the world of whisky. Through innovation and ensuring the highest quality of craftsmanship, we seek to create the most flavoursome whisky possible, and establish The Lakes as one of the finest sherry-led whiskies, and put England on the map as one of the finest whisky-producing regions.
To do that, the film includes The Lakes’ whiskymaker Dhavall Gandhi, marketing director Kirsty Taylor, and independent global drinks writer Dave Broom.
What do you think makes British luxury so special?
As an industry, the image of British luxury is all about history and heritage. Guided by a sense of quality and purpose, it is influenced by the place but it is people who are at its heart. The influence of people who have honed their skills over many years to become supreme craftsmen and women are key to the industry, and it is their unrelenting commitment to quality and, of course, a desire to innovate that continues to make British luxury so special.
How do you see your brand defining a new era for British luxury?
At The Lakes, we are pushing the boundaries of whisky creation. As a creative and artistic process, we respect the traditions of whiskymaking but are not hampered by them. Ours is a story of modern craftsmanship, with the whiskymaker practising clinical precision, working in laboratory-like conditions, using modern, groundbreaking equipment, techniques and approaches to create flavour at every stage of the spirit’s journey through the distillery. It is a tale of innovation, with quality at its heart. Of taking a fresh and different approach, with an unrelenting focus on flavour.
