Whisky
Whisky - a product of place!
Ask me my favourite whisky and I'll usually avoid answering. Not because I don't have one, but because the answer has changed so many times over the years. At different points, it has been a smoky Scotch paired with a windswept coastline, the meticulously crafted Japanese single malt, a rich Bourbon shared among friends, or one of the exciting new whiskies emerging from my homeland, India.
The variables that make whisky endlessly explorable
Along the way, I became fascinated by the variables that make whisky so endlessly explorable. The differences between the intensity of peat in a malt. The influence of ex-Bourbon barrels or ex-Sherry cask finishes. How climate can accelerate maturation in India while encouraging a slower evolution in Scotland. How a spirit distilled from the same grain can tell entirely different stories depending on where and how it ages. Even after hundreds of tastings, however, I still couldn't confidently point to a single favourite, until I spent a month in England's Lake District.
An unplanned distillery visit
The Lakes Distillery wasn't the reason for the trip. It wasn't even in the plan. I simply wanted to spend time in one of the most beautiful corners of the country: taking boat rides into the sunset, wandering through winding villages, cooking elaborate meals and eating well, navigating the occasional snowfall, the nomadic company, and enjoying some time off-work. The distillery visit came later, after realising that the whisky we'd been enjoying throughout the trip was produced just a few bus rides away. Getting there became part of the adventure itself. And, as it turns out, part of the whisky's story.
Whisky is a product of place
One of the things that struck me most about The Lakes was how deeply connected it felt to its surroundings. The distillery sits within a landscape that has inspired writers, artists and travellers for generations. The rivers, lakes and changing weather patterns aren't simply a backdrop; they're part of the environment in which the whisky is made and matured. Standing there, it became easier to understand something that can be difficult to grasp from a tasting note alone: whisky is a product of place. Before visiting, I appreciated The Lakes because it tasted good. After visiting, I appreciated the choices behind it.
What a bottle can't tell you
A bottle can tell you about cask types, age statements and flavour descriptors. A distillery visit tells you everything else — the sounds of production, the scale of the stills, the smell of the warehouses, the pace of life around the distillery, the people responsible for making the spirit. In our case, it also meant being shown a little more than the standard visitor experience. Conversations lasted longer. Questions led to stories. Stories led to tasting blends of the whisky we might never have discovered otherwise. The hospitality of the distillery completely changed the way I experienced the brand.
A distillery built on experimentation
The distillery has built a reputation around experimentation. New releases appear regularly, often exploring different approaches to maturation and blending. Labels feel deliberate rather than decorative. Colours, artwork and packaging aren't simply there to stand out on a shelf; they're extensions of the story being told through each release. Even the bottle feels intentional — recognisable without being traditional, contemporary without losing its sense of craftsmanship. In an industry where tradition is rightly celebrated, I found it refreshing to encounter a producer equally committed to exploration.
Curiosity is more accessible than travel
Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether The Lakes would have become my favourite whisky had I only encountered it through a bottle shop shelf. And I realise the answer is no, because the whisky just happens to be the thread that tied all those memories together. So while The Lakes may be my favourite whisky today, the real lesson wasn't about finding a favourite bottle. It was about discovering how much more there is to explore. Not everyone will find themselves navigating snowy bus routes through England's Lake District, or spend an afternoon talking casks with the people responsible for filling them. Travel, after all, is a privilege. But curiosity is far more accessible. One of the reasons I want to start sharing stories through A Niche Collective is because I realised that every bottle carries a sense of place. Most of us won't visit all of them. Yet through the whiskies themselves, we can still experience a small part of those journeys. The attempt with ANC is to bring a few of those stories, places, and whiskies a little closer to home.
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