The Lakes Distillery Steel Bonnets

Steel Bonnets is a blend of kindred spirits – malt whiskies from both England and Scotland. At its heart is single malt whisky from The Lakes Distillery, created with love and great care in the Lake District National Park. Steel Bonnets is the first cross-border blend of exceptional English and Scotch malt whiskies.

The Lakes Distillery have created Steel Bonnets blended malt whisky to honour the memory of those people who lived in the Border Marches of England and Scotland during the 13th – 17th centuries. In early English, to ‘reive’ is to rob, and from this were born ‘The Border Reivers’, nicknamed the ‘Steel Bonnets’ after the helmets they wore for protection.

‘Steel Bonnets’ was the nickname given to the community known as the Border Reivers. This Frontier territory, so distant from Crown control of both nations proved difficult to govern. In fact, the people of the Border Marches did not see themselves as either English or Scottish and therefore developed a certain independence of spirit that set them against the world. Their allegiance was to kin, not kingdom. Loyalty was to the tribe, or clan – to family. These loyalties had no border or king, but united them under their clan name. Past hostilities forgotten, this is a union of all that is good. On the nose expect some peat.

On the nose, hints of pear drops, spices and vanilla entice you further. The palate is smoky with a delicate sweetness emerging from the smoke. Vanilla, butterscotch and earthy jam emerge. The finish is medium length, slightly smoky with tones of vanilla and oak.

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