The Disruptors

Nigel Mills on making 'new world' whisky in the Lake District

In our latest interview series, Walpole Board Member Mark Harvey speaks with some of the fastest rising stars of British luxury who are challenging the established players in their sectors. This month, he sits down with Nigel John Mills CBE, Co-Founder of The Lakes Distillery which makes world-class whisky inside a collection of beautifully renovated and repurposed Victorian farm buildings near Carlisle...
31st Aug 2022
The Disruptors Nigel Mills on making 'new world' whisky in the Lake District

After building an empire of convenience stores and supermarkets stretching from County Durham in the north to Lincolnshire in the south (not to mention Wales in the west), Nigel John Mills CBE met Paul Currie who was planning to build a whisky distillery in an old Victorian model farm in the Lake District National Park. Together, they founded The Lakes Distillery, opening the venue in April 2012. A decade later and its produce is winning accolades that even 'old world' whiskymakers would covet.

Mark Harvey: Your company has strong momentum in a category of large, well-established players. What is your unique proposition?

Nigel John Mills CBE: Back in 2012, I thought that the whisky industry would be ripe for change, rather like the wine industry. Forty years ago, you would buy wine predominately from Spain, Italy Germany, and France. Then the Australians and New Zealanders came along and replicated the best of ‘old world' wine production – and then added a greater focus andrigour to the production techniques and simplified the labelling of the wine in bottle allowing the customer to buy their favourite grape varietal more easily. Today Australian and New Zealand vineyards are known across the world and are one of the biggest wine producers globally. Similarly, in the whisky world, we are now seeing great change. In October 2020 Distill Ventures (the venture capital arm of Diageo) published a report on ‘New World Whisky’ – that is whisky that is not produced in Scotland, Ireland, Japan, USA or Canada – that revealed the category as one of the fastest growing segments of the spirits industry, outpacing Scotch sales year-on-year.

The Lakes Distillery has been in existence legally for 11 years and we are in our eighth year of distilling, so we are well placed to take advantage of this opportunity for 'new world' whisky. Our house style single malt whisky is sherry wood forward, flavour-packed and is targeted at the super-premium end of the single malt whisky market. The casks are built from new Spanish and French oak and individually prepared to create a specific flavour profile for our whisky. Similarly, the 'new make' spirit is engineered to get the most from the casks in terms of colour and flavour, rather like an engine and gear box – if the gearbox is not tuned to the engine, you will not get the power from the engine you expect. We are building stocks of maturing whisky in cask with different but complementary flavour profiles to allow us the create a flavour packed multi-layered single malt whisky, rather like an artist before he paints his or her masterpiece, they start with a palette of colours and mix to obtain degrees of dark or light.

I can happily report our whisky is being well received on the world stage. In March 2022, The Lakes Whiskymaker Reserve No 4 was recognised as the 'World’s Best Single Malt' at the London-based World Whiskies Awards, beating the finalists from 25 other countries in a blindtasting final.

How does your company benefit the wider community? How sustainable is your offering?

NJM: The Lakes Distillery is based in the Lake District National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2017), so from the very beginning sustainability and the community were a big priority for us. We have created over 60 jobs based at the distillery, mostly young people in an area of economic challenge (NW Cumbria), and brought a derelict Victorian Farm from the 1860s back to economic life."

In terms of sustainability, all the ingredients that are used inproducing single malt whisky spirit are reused as either cattle feed (barley) or fertiliser for the land (pot ales). The distillery buildings and visitor experience use biomass for heating and hot water supply, and all the lighting on the site is LED with architectural designs to protect the dark skies. We process all our own waste on site and use a bore hole which is environmentally sustainable to supply water for the distilling processes.

Where possible, all our bottles and packaging are sourced in the UK, and recyclable.

Mark: Luxury brands tend to think in generations not years. What is your long-term vision and what will be your legacy?

NJM: Success in the whisky industry is measured in decades, not years. The Lakes Distillery's vision is to create a global luxury single malt whisky recognised in the best hotels, bars and retail outlets in the principal cities around the world. The legacy will be inspiring people both in Cumbria and throughout the world to recognise this amazing brand and to continue to develop and champion our vision.

Visit The Lakes Distillery's Walpole Member profile.

Connect with Nigel John Mills CBE on LinkedIn.

lakesdistillery.com

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