English whisky’s The Lakes Distillery has lined up a change of production lead for the start of next month.
The company’s whiskymaker, Sarah Burgess, is set to “pursue an opportunity closer to her home in Scotland”, the Lakes confirmed today (11 August). Replacing her from 1 September will be Brendan McCarron (below), who will “work closely with Grace Frith, assistant whiskymaker, and Bruce Smith, head of distilling & whisky operations”.
McCarron returns to contracted employment status after having started his own consultancy in mid-2023. Previously, he spent 17 years on the distillation side, starting with Diageo in 2006 – a near-eight-year stint that included two years as senior site manager at the group’s Oban distillery and three in the same role overseeing operations on the island of Islay.
McCarron then worked for Moët Hennessy at Glenmorangie from 2014 to 2021, before holding the post of master distiller at Distell for two and a half years.
“Brendan has long been renowned in the whisky industry for having worked with some outstanding distilleries and brands, and for having a vast skillset and range of experience,” said the CEO of The Lakes’ parent, Nyetimber, Eric Heerema. “Our key focus at The Lakes is to embrace and explore the possibilities of using élevage to create innovative … flavours for our premium single malt whiskies.
“Having Brendan at the forefront of this will be a fantastic asset for The Lakes whiskymaking moving forward.”
Nyetimber, which owns the namesake English sparkling wine brand, acquired The Lakes in April last year for just under US$90m.
