Princess Anne pays visit to The Lakes Distillery, Bassenthwaite

Joining co-founders Nigel Mills CBE and Paul Currie, the visit comes after a first for English whisky when The Lakes Single Malt, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.4, was named the “World’s Best Single Malt Whisky” at the 2022 World Whiskies Awards.

With a £3.2m investment programme complete, The Princess Royal embarked upon a tour of new developments designed to elevate the visitor experience, triple whisky production capacity, and create a state-of-the-art Whisky Studio to sit at the heart of a modern approach to whiskymaking.

The visit was a 'proud moment' for staff at the popular business (Image: public)

When exploring the recently renovated Whiskymaker’s House, Princess Anne heard from team members about the business's long-standing sense of responsibility and how it is striving to make a positive impact.

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In partnership with the Lake District Foundation, the whisky distillery has launched The Lakes Distillery Water Fund. Offering grant donations to local organisations, charities and community-led groups keen to improve water quality in the National Park, the fund currently supports a healthy mix of six local organisations that aim to tackle pollution protection, habitat creation, and/or invasive species control in the Lake District.

The Princess learned about the whiskey making process (Image: ublic)

Paying a visit to the purpose-built Whisky Studio, The Princess Royal learned about the impact the laboratory-grade facility has on The Lakes’ entire whiskymaking process. 

Upon meeting the distillery’s whiskymaking team, The Princess Royal was presented with an exclusive bottle of a Private Reserve of The Lakes Single Malt, which has been maturing at the distillery since the original visit.

The princess was presented with an exclusive bottle of a Private Reserve of The Lakes Single Malt (Image: public)

Grace Gorton, Whisky Analyst said: “We talked about what we do at the Lakes, the casks, the characters that then come through to our whisky and we had a little nose of the whisky as well. She was definitely really interested and had a lot of great questions”

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 Louis Leadbetter, Hospitality and Events Supervisor, said: “She asked about my job and what the business has accomplished in the past few years. It was a proud moment that a member of the Royal family acknowledged a place I work. It was a good feeling.”