Wire Works Bourbon Barrel

Estimated despatch 7 February

Undoubtedly one of the leading lights of English whisky, and also a whisky coming of age. White Peak distillery is named after their view in beautiful Derbyshire, while the whisky takes its name from the building’s original industrial use, reflecting the proud past of the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site (as do their stunning bottles).

Founded in 2016, they’ve used various casks, including STR (shaved, toasted and recharred red wine), but here the distillery’s oldest whisky to date has matured exclusively in first-fill bourbon casks. Allowing more space for the distillery character to shine is no bad thing when they’ve worked so hard on it. A small amount of peated barley is combined with unpeated (10PPM total), and a blend of yeasts are used including used brewer’s yeast from local brewers (Thornbridge, known for Jaipur IPA) with long 6-day fermentations for fruity esters.