PARTNER BAR

The New Union

The New Union in the Cumbrian town of Kendal in the Lake District is reason enough to visit this beautiful corner of northwest England. SMWS ambassador Lee ‘Connas’ Connor paid a visit to one of the Society’s newest partner bars to find out more

PHOTOS: IAN WOOD

Circumstances have meant that we’ve mostly been feeding our love of whisky at home over the past two years, so it feels even more special to be able to get back out and about and experience bars such as the New Union in Kendal.

Owner Phil Walker has had vast experience in the bar trade, spending 17 years honing his craft on the frontline, from managing busy city centre chain bars all the way to setting up his own in Cumbria.

“When I first took on the New Union back in 2017, I built it around real ale and craft keg beer,” he says. “But my passion is whisky, and I was keen to share that passion and have more choice than the average pub in the Lakes. So, initially, I had around 20 whiskies and 10 gins on the bar.

ABOVE: Phil Walker

“When you think about it, we are less than an hour and a half away from The Lakes Distillery. If you’re travelling up to visit distilleries in Scotland from London or anywhere via northwest England, we’re a perfectly placed point of whisky interest”

“Interestingly, I’ve found that the trend in craft beer and the general desire to be more exploratory and adventurous with what you drink has made for a very organic crossover to be able to recommend whisky, which by its very nature is hugely diverse in flavour. This has really formed the bedrock of the success we’ve had here at the New Union. We now have a group of core customers who want and expect to be able to try new whisky.”

That move to focus on a strong selection of diverse whiskies has meant more people making the effort to travel to visit the New Union, beyond its focus on regular customers.

“As we’ve grown our choice in whisky, we’ve been getting more and more people visiting us from out of town, specifically to try our whisky,” says Phil. “When you think about it, we are less than an hour and a half away from The Lakes Distillery. If you’re travelling up to visit distilleries in Scotland from London or anywhere via northwest England, we’re a perfectly placed point of whisky interest if you’d like to break up your journey. And this has led to the whole town upping its game, whisky-wise.”

WELCOME TO THE SOCIETY

For those who make the journey, you can expect a hugely diverse selection of bottlings, with SMWS offerings at the heart of New Union’s gantry.

“I like to get two or three bottles in from a distillery and see what works with our customers,” says Phil. “Glengoyne 10 and 12 sell really well, but it’s great to be able to include some rarer stuff too. We’ve got every bottling the Lakes distillery has ever done here, a great selection of [Swedish single malt] Mackmyra, and a solid representation of American whiskies too.

“We’ve also introduced themed nights in association with whisky brands like Douglas Laing, Tamdhu, and Bunnahabhain to name a few. We’ve even had a visit from a certain gentleman by the name of Olaf from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, you may well have heard of him!”

Indeed, Olaf’s visit to the New Union was very much a ‘Welcome to the Society team’ event for Phil.

“Being a SMWS partner bar is a bit of a no-brainer for me,” he says. “There are the obvious benefits such as being up there with some of the best whisky bars in the world. Having an SMWS bottling behind your bar has one of two reactions – instant recognition or intrigue. From the point of view of being able to tailor our customer experience this is invaluable, and there is always something to talk about.

“Currently, we have 14 SMWS bottlings, and we hope to be getting much more in the future. But as a whisky fan, the literal stylistic expanse and quality of the Society’s single cask, cask strength whiskies fits perfectly with our philosophy here. How often do you find a 14-year-old Bunnahabhain that’s been aged in bourbon? You don’t! Your experimental cask regime is a huge point of interest here, there is just no one else doing it on that scale, to that standard.

“We’re very proud of the whisky we stock here, and our place within the whisky industry. The Lake District has a lot of visitors every year, it’s about how we can harness those visitors and ignite their interest in whisky while they’re here.”