Princess Anne opens England’s largest distillery
Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal has officially opened The Lakes Distillery – thought to be the largest distillery in England.
The Princess Royal has officially opened The Lakes Distillery in CumbriaWhile the Cumbria-based distillery began whisky production in December last year, Princess Anne attended an official launch ceremony yesterday.
The Lakes Distillery is the first distillery to be built in the Lake District in more than 100 years.
The company bottled the first British blended whisky last year using liquid sourced from across the British Isles. A few months later, it launched The Lakes Gin, which uses botanicals foraged in the local area.
During her visit, Princess Anne visited the stillroom where The Lakes Vodka, The Lakes Gin, and The Lakes Single Malt are produced before unveiling a plaque in the distillery’s courtyard.
Following the tour, The Lakes Distillery founder and managing director Paul Currie and chairman of the board Nigel Mills presented Her Royal Highness with a sherry cask of The Lakes Malt to commemorate her visit.
“It was an incredible honour to have Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal officially open The Lakes Distillery and all of us will remember it for years to come,” said Currie.
“As the only distillery in Cumbria, we are very proud of our team and our facilities which are already producing award-winning spirits. It was a pleasure to be able to present the fruit of our hard work to such a prestigious guest.”
The distillery expects to attract 100,000 visitors each year.
In April this year, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall opened Scotland’s first single estate Scotch whisky distillery, Ballindalloch.
