New Malts on the Block: Wire Works Bourbon Barrel Review (plus a couple extra samples)

Up to now, my entire exploration of new whisky distilleries has focused on Scotland and Scotland alone. And yet, things are stirring around the world. In particular, England is becoming a proper whisky destination with over 50 distilleries between those actively selling their product or getting close to releasing their Inaugural bottles. There is just a little problem if you live outside the UK. Outside of Cotswolds and occasionally Bimber, very little of what is available makes it outside the UK. So, last summer, while driving up to Scotland for my summer vacation and associated whisky shenanigans, I took a slight detour to stop at what is arguably the English distillery making the most noise among whisky aficionados: White Peak Distillery. I was lucky enough to stop just shortly after the release of the whisky I will review today, the Wire Works Bourbon Barrel (plus a couple of samples I was able to grab at the distillery). I didn’t know then, but this bottle has now gone to win the newly founded and community-led English Whisky Awards as the “Best English Whisky”. 

White Peak or Wire Works?

Let’s clear a potential source of confusion. Is it White Peak or Wirw Works? Both. White Peak is the distillery’s name, directly referencing the area in Derbyshire where it is located. The Wire Works is the brand used for all the whiskies produced by White Peak. This refers to the building, a former wire factory, which was repurposed to host the distillery itself. The wire factory theme is integral to the design of the bottles, with lines representing the single threads of a wire twisting together and the cap showing a stylised cross-section of the wire itself. I don’t normally spend time on packaging, but this one stands out.

So both names make sense and have a clear connection to the sense of place of this up-and-coming distillery. The distillery also produces gin, branded Shining Cliff, and rum under the distillery’s name. You could argue that having a single name might have made brand recognition easier. I heard, jokingly, that the reason for the different name comes from “not being marketing professionals”. If true, I love the honesty of the answer. Much better than trying to Mae up some convoluted story.

 If you happen to be in this area of England, White Peak is well worth a visit. Sure there is the whisky,  which I am going to talk about in a moment. But it is the location itself that merits a visit, even more so if you have an interest in industrial architecture. The site, surrounded by forest and located on the River Derwent is unique, peaceful and charming. 

For the geeks

Since its first release in 2022, White Peak has been receiving increasingly more attention from the whisky aficionados community. The quality of its early releases has undoubtedly played a role, but there is something more: allowing whisky geeks the opportunity to access some of their more experimental stuff. Earlier this year, there was the release of the Up’ards and Down’ards. These two bottlings of two identical ex-red wine casks filled the same month but matured in different locations, the upper and lower dunnages explored the maturational differences depending on the location. 

Unsurprisingly, I didn’t get a chance to try those two releases, but I was lucky enough to sample something close to the Up’ards, if not even geekier, at the Aqvavitae under the table tasting, which happened just before the Glasgow Whisky Festival. This was an Upper warehouse aged STR casks proofed down using petit eaux rather than water. Petit Eaux is a technique sometimes used in Cognac production, which involves ageing low proof spirits, to extract some of the water-soluble compounds from the wood. This carries more flavour in the final spirit and also provides extra texture.  (This is the short version; you can find a detailed description on Dramface). This was one of the most unique whiskies I tried not only that weekend, but probably this year. 

While I cross my fingers hoping Wire Works will at some point get wiser European distribution, and hoping some of that geeky stuff makes it over here, today I’ll take a look at some of the “standard” lineup and review the Wire Works Bourbon Barrel plus the Caduro and Virgin Oak editions.

Wire Works Bourbon Barrel

Tasting Notes

Colour: very pale gold

Nose: Unmistakably Bourbon-cask aged. At first, it gives slightly unripe bananas, green apples, vanilla custard, and some toffee. Maybe even some white chocolate. There is a nutty pistachio note, which I usually get with older (12-15 years of age), first-fill Bourbon-aged Scottish malts, In the background, I get spice: some ginger and a touch of pepper, which I suspect comes more from the peat than the spirit. Besides that, I cannot really notice any peat on the nose. 

Taste & Finish:  The 53.4% ABV gives some spicy bite to start with chilli and ginger. Then come the bananas and toffee, rich vanilla sugar. Some lemon zest then finally a hint of smoke.

The finish is fruity and sweet, with green apple, pastry crust, vanilla and a touch of spice, finishing with a light note of woodsmoke.

The Samples

Wire Works Caduro

Nose: Very fruity and only slightly smokey. Opens up on loads of fresh fruit. I immediately get freshly cut apples, pears and bananas. There is just a hint of citrus, a bit of orange peel, maybe, and some cinnamon and nutmeg spice. In the background, a backdrop of vanilla-flavoured powder sugar and a light buttered popcorn note. The peat finally comes across as dark, almost burnt caramel. There is a little bit of youthful and not fully integrated alcohol, which does go away with some air exposure.

Taste & Finish: For all the fruity character on the nose, the taste takes a bit of a left turn to darker and slightly bitter notes. After an initial barley sugar hit, the notes turn to liquorice, long pepper, and even a hint of shag tobacco. After a while, there is some fresh citrus lemon zest, to bring back some freshness. The texture doesn’t fully stand up to the intensity of the taste, it is slightly thin, not terribly so, but still, it leaves me wanting more.

The finish goes back to sweeter notes. I get a big hit of butterscotch, then vanilla, some citrus, a touch of smoke and a drying mouthfeel.

Wire Works Virgin Oak

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light amber

Nose: I have had a few mixed experiences with virgin oak cask-aged whiskies, but this has none of that slightly metallic artificial Vanilla I sometimes get. Instead, it is a rich, pastry-like dram. Immediately, I get buttery pie crust, custard, bananas, tropical fruit, pistachios, and some nutmeg. It is not a super complex nose, but it comes together beautifully without sharp alcoholic edges. 

Taste & Finish: Unsurprisingly, at just over 50% abv, this comes across as slightly hotter than the Caduro (nothing a drop of water won’t fix), but that has the positive effect of giving a much better mouthfeel. The taste is sugary and nutty. The main note is treacle, then some hazelnuts, vanilla, and a mix of sweet spices.

The finish remains pretty consistent on the same notes with caramel, treacle fudge, vanilla, fruit and, finally,  some woodsmoke form the slightly peated malt.

After writing my tasting notes, I always find it interesting to look at other opinions. Here are a few other reviews of Wire Works Bourbon Barrel I enjoyed:

No Nonsense Whisky

Dramface

If you have enjoyed this content, please share a comment below and consider supporting the cost of this blog via the button below