GIVING SCOTLAND A RUN FOR ITS MONEY
White Peak Distillery is based in an old wire works (the name it gives to its own whisky bottlings) on the river in Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. As well as its industrial heritage, this area is known for its brewing heritage, and White Peak makes use of that connection.
This is whisky with a real sense of place and shows that England can put its own stamp on single malt instead of simply copying what its cousins north of the border are doing. There are some who believe English whisky distilleries shouldn’t bother trying to compete with Scotch and produce something other than single malt. This whisky shows that English single malt can go in its own direction and carve its own niche.
So, White Peak is, as you might guess, based on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire. The distillery is housed in a building with tremendous history, a former metal-wire factory on the river Derwent. (White Peak’s own releases are under the name Wire Works.) This is a historic industrial area – the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site – but Derbyshire is also famous as brewing country... Burton is only a few miles away. And it's this connection White Peak makes use of above all.
Founders Max and Claire Vaughan, distillery manager Dave Symes (a Derbyshire native who has been involved since day one of distillation in 2018) and the team work with barley grown in the county. More important for the flavour than that, though – and everything about the production is flavour-led, not done for the sake of a good “heritage” story - is the use of brewers’ yeast.
They are supplied with spent yeast from the Thornbridge Distillery, just up the road in Bakewell. What the use of brewer’s yeast does to the new-make spirit, particularly when combined with long, temperature-controlled fermentation times and slow distillation, is to boost the richness of the mouthfeel, as well as amping up the fruit notes.
If you’ve ever been to an ale brewery, you’ll have smelt the esters and aldehydes that come up from the beer even more than from most whisky washbacks. Because of the brewer’s yeast – which is used in combination with distiller’s yeast – there is a distinct cantaloupe aroma on this whisky, even after six years of ageing.
I should mention that, under its Wire Works label, White Peak has released several interesting wine-cask finishes (with 18 months’ finishing). But, for me, ex-bourbon and STR cask maturation are ideal for showcasing what is a beautifully crafted spirit in the first place. This particular whisky has spent six years in a first-fill ex-bourbon cask. As well as the huge hit of fresh orchard fruit and melon notes, it is packed with flavours that make you think of dessert: baked lemon, crème brûlée, gingerbread, apple crumble and honey cake.
To provide a little contrast and complexity, there is a whisper of smoke and white pepper too. That’s because a small amount of lightly peated malt is included in the mash. I find that attention to detail and thinking ahead very impressive.