Steel Bonnets Whisky Review

England, Scotland, Spirit Reviews, Whisky

I’ve been a fan of The Lakes Distillery from the start, ever since I sampled one of their first products, The Lakes Gin. They also make a decent vodka, as I discovered on a tour of the distillery when I was visiting the Lake District. It’s in a beautiful setting, and is a terrific tourist attraction. I’ve also sampled and enjoyed their Explorer Edition Gin.

Lakes Distillery Whiskies

It’s for their whisky, though, that they are best known, and they can claim to be the biggest whisky distillery in England. While their flagship single malt whisky was maturing, they experimented and produced a whisky called The ONE. This was a blend of English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh Whiskies.

The distillery has also recently produced a limited edition of 5,500 numbered bottles of The ONE, which has been finished in sherry casks. When I heard they had also produced a new whisky called Steel Bonnets, which is a blend of their own single malt with a Scottish single malt, I was definitely keen to try.

The Borders

The part of the UK where southern Scotland meets northern England has always been very special. For one thing, the actual border between the two countries has moved several times, so there’s a mix of cultures and history. Also, England’s most northerly town, Berwick-upon-Tweed, is much further north than, say, Peebles in Scotland, with both towns standing on the River Tweed.

The Border Reivers

This area has also been a pretty lawless part of the UK. It was inhabited by marauding raiders known as the Border Reivers, a group made up of both Scottish and English brigands who would thieve equally from the English and the Scottish inhabitants of the region. They wore distinctive helmets that were known as steel bonnets.

Steel Bonnets Whisky Review

What better name could there be, then, for a whisky that brings together spirits from both sides of the border? It’s a great story, but is it a great whisky? Well, at 46.6% ABV, it gets off to a good start in my book as I like my spirits strong.

The colour’s lighter than I thought it would be, somewhere between straw and amber, and on the nose it’s one of those whiskies you just want to keep sniffing. There’s a honey sweetness to it, but then sniff it again and you smell a musty peaty aroma. It’s certainly a complex smell.

And the taste? Similarly complex. It’s smoky though gently so, not in the intense Islay manner. It’s sweet and a little creamy/vanilla. but with some spiciness coming through too. My wife got more specific notes of butterscotch and caramel.

It’s a really enjoyable whisky, and loops back to what I said earlier about these border regions – there’s a mix of culture and history, and Steel Bonnets does justice to that heritage. Well done, Lakes Distillery, for capturing that in a bottle.