Review | Wireworks Necessary Evil Finish (Batch 3)

This whisky is the third in a special series from the English distillery of White Peak. The Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish Batch 3 sees the Derbyshire distillery partner with the nearby Thornbridge brewery. This includes maturing their lightly peated single malt in casks that have previously held Thornbridge’s award-winning Necessary Evil stout. The two previous editions, released in 2022 and 2023, both sold out rapidly. The whisky was initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels before a finish in ex-red wine STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) casks that were seasoned with the stout beer.

The White Peak distillery was founded in 2017 by Max and Claire Vaughn. It is located in the village of Ambleside near Matlock, Derbyshire in the Peak District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The distillery is housed within the former Johnson & Nephew copper wire factory on the banks of the River Derwent. They also produce rum and gin, as well as supporting the local community in eco-friendly and sustainability projects. It was Derbyshire’s first ever craft distillery. White Peak is also one of the founding members of the English Whisky Guild.

We’ve had a strong relationship with Thornbridge since we began. We use their spent brewer’s yeast in all our fermentations – collecting it weekly has become part of our distilling routine. Necessary Evil Finish brings the story full circle: whisky that starts life with Thornbridge yeast, and finishes its journey in their stout casks.

Max Vaughan | Co-founder of White Peak

The Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish Batch 3 is bottled at the cask strength of 51.3% ABV and is both non-chill filtered and of natural colour. There are just 2,547 bottles. It is available at the distillery shop, via www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk and in selected specialist whisky retailers in the UK. A bottle will cost £69.

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Our Tasting Notes

The colour is deep gold and the nose is sweet and malty with a touch of gentle peat smoke. Initial aromas of golden syrup and caramelised apple give way to milk chocolate, cocoa powder and a hint of mocha. A bittersweet and earthy malty character evolves and adds plenty of structure. This is reminiscent of treacle biscuits with late hints of molasses, gingerbread and drying oak spice.

On the palate this whisky feels expressive, sweet but with a distinct savoury edge. The gentle peat smoke seems more prominent immediately and has an earthy and ashy feel. It ends up wrapping around everything and adds real depth and complexity to the whisky. The initial notes are again sweet and led by golden syrup and caramel. Milk chocolate is also evident, but becomes more like dark high cocoa chocolate with time. A hint of freshly ground coffee brings back the thought of mocha.

Some vanilla pod and green fruit come through – think of baked apple and poached pear especially. Then a hint of treacle tart and orange oil. Sitting alongside the gentle peat smoke is a biscuity malt characteristic. The pair in combination underpin the whisky and give great structure. Additional warmth comes from a selection of baking spices – cinnamon bark, powdered ginger, white pepper and clove in particular.

A woody dryness begins to evolve on the finish, which is of decent length. This mingles with the elegant ashy smoke to create a bone dry ending. Before that the golden syrup, milk chocolate and some fresh honeycomb linger nicely before fading. The finish also becomes slightly bitter with a hint of spent coffee grounds right at the close.

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What’s The Verdict?

Another fine whisky from White Peak and one that shows great development. We sampled the inaugural Wire Works Necessary Evil three years ago and it was more youthful from memory. Now the green fruitiness has developed from fresh apple and pear to be more reminiscent of soft, cooked fruit. And the malty and chocolatey notes from the stout cask seem more pronounced. All this works superbly with the light level of peat smoke, which sits underneath nicely. You get plenty for your money with this whisky.