Lakeland Artisan wins 13 Great Taste Awards August 2023!
Tasted by the Experts, 13 products from Lakeland Artisan are awarded Great Taste Awards, two 2 Star and eleven 1 star in 2023
Kendal – based, Mawson’s, Cumbrian Delights and Lakeland Liqueurs brands by Lakeland Artisan, have been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up 13 highly prized Great Taste Awards this year bringing its total to 96 awards.
MARMALADE YAN GIN 2 STAR
This Marmalade Gin impressed the judges with its potent nose of orange marmalade and juniper with a backbone of botanicals. On the palate, this flavour bomb explodes with intensity and breadth of flavours, paired perfectly with well judged sweetness and bitterness. The texture is impressively rich and the finish is long. This flavourful and characterful gin inspires an array of interesting applications.
There is an initial sweet orange marmalade note on the nose, supported by the lemon, lemon curd/lemon silver shred notes. When tasted we found more smooth and characterful sweet and sour lemon notes with alcohol levels balanced up well, retaining an overall balance allowing this to be sipped or mixed. Good mouthfeel enhanced the taste experience and the finish continued for many moments with the rich lemon peel/jam influence lasting longest. The gin character is well retained and the natural and rich citrus elements make this very enjoyable.
MULLED FRUIT GIN LIQUEUR 2 STAR
This is Christmas in a bottle with simmered Christmas spices in both aroma and flavour. The judges felt that it would benefit from a little more of an alcohol hit but overall it's quite delicious.
The aroma is bursting with blackcurrant, elderberry and cherry, but also a green tomato leaf and Worcestershire sauce tartness. It has a really interesting chutney sweetness that means it would be delicious with cheese. It has acidity, tomato, salt, a hint of celery along with ripe berry fruit. A really interesting and complex flavour with both sweetness and savouriness - like a mature Balsamic vinegar.
DAMSON JAM 1 STAR
Good aroma, full of fruit, glossy and a good soft set . The fruit is vivid, alive on the tongue with just the right degree of sharpness - you fear it is about to go too sharp but it never quite does. The fruit is so good here - leaving a clean, clear balance between sweetness and acidity on a long fresh finish.
BEETROOT CHUTNEY 1 STAR
Good, fresh beetroot aroma and on the palate this relish is most refreshing. Good level of sweetness with a clever, balanced acidity and thankfully, little or no unpleasant vinegar notes. The flavours peak well, leaving a clean freshness and a most pleasant finish. We all loved the way the beetroot had broken down but still held its texture, perfect cooking delivering a subtle bite.
STICKY TOFFEE SAUCE 1 STAR
A lovely rich, thick toffee sauce with a firm consistency. There were very light toffee notes on the nose which followed through to the flavour. We recognise that this was a super-sweet sauce, but would have liked a much greater depth of flavour and not just sugar.
SARSAPARILLA 1 STAR
This sounds fascinating and we were looking forward to trying this deep dark drink. On tasting, we love the three-flavour combination; they work really well together. Our only feeling is that it is a little on the sweet side (even though we were expecting it to be sweet!). We love the way the liquorice comes through along with a gentle flavour of ginger. For a higher award, we wish the ginger had had a little more of a kick to add a lingering warmth on the palate.
STRAWBERRY YAN GIN WITH CREAM SODA 1 STAR
This sounds very interesting. There is a gentle strawberry and candy aroma. On tasting, the strawberry comes through well and is like wild strawberry. That is mingled with the creaminess from the soda, giving a pleasing mouth feel and the flavour of mint.is there too (we didn't get basil but we didn't mind that!). This does exactly what it says and, if you enjoy sweet drinks, you will love this. There is a very definite place for this in a crowded market and we think is worthy of an award.
FELL TONIC WATER 1 STAR
Pale golden straw colour with quite large bubbles - but not overly carbonated. Fresh aroma from the botanicals and a hint of lemongrass. Attractive hit of bitters on the palate but well balanced with the other ingredients and a zing from the Cinchona bark. It has a clean and refreshing lingering finish with a slight hint of quinine. This is a well thought through product.
CHRISTMAS YAN GIN 1 STAR
This spirit has a wonderful deep ruby red colour and nice viscosity, with a nose of pleasant deep cherry/bitter orange/blood orange and damson jam with a further spicy complexity. Sweet, fresh spicy, intense, fresh orange zest/pith, is followed by natural and rich dried fruit/cherry fruit intensity. Slightly drying on the finish with burnt raisins / flambéed Christmas pudding and a hint of eucalyptus/menthol. When mixed further notes of cranberry and cooked apple/figs/stone fruit come through.
SLOE GIN LIQUEUR 1 STAR
A very pleasant nose, with sherry like notes. It has a great consistency which lends a lovely viscosity. The flavour is deep and concentrated, with balanced sweetness and ripeness. A very good example of this type of drink.
DAMSON WHISKY LIQUEUR 1 STAR
The damson is present though is underpinned by the whisky. Lovely viscosity and a gentle warmth. The balance is very good and it feels very grown-up. The judges felt that this was a strong star and to get to two we would have liked a better grade of whisky.
HONEY VODKA LIQUEUR 1 STAR
An amalgamation of good quality honey with good quality vodka. It is well made and balanced, and does exactly what the product suggests. A delicious product with potentially lots of uses.
DAMSON YAN GIN 1 STAR - Coming Soon!
We loved the beautiful vibrant colour and crystal clarity. The juniper came through nicely on the aroma which was surprisingly light on damsons - however their flavour punches through in the mouth. We liked the rich fruity flavour and how the juniper and light spice runs throughout the whole flavour journey, right through into the finish.
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, the judging took place over 90 days across two judging locations (Dorset and London) with a panel of more than 500 judges. This year’s line-up saw food and drink products submitted from a staggering 110 different countries from across the world.
“Being recognised with 13 Great Taste star means so much to independent producers such as us, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink world, so it really is a big win!
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, the judging took place over 90 days across two judging locations (Dorset and London) with a panel of more than 500 judges. This year’s line-up saw food and drink products submitted from a staggering 110 different countries from across the world.
“Being recognised with 13 Great Taste star means so much to independent producers such as us, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink world, so it really is a big win!