White Peak and Wire Works

Type: Distillery and brand

White Peak is the distillery at Ambergate in Derbyshire; Wire Works is the name of its whisky, taken from the former industrial works it occupies. Founded by Max and Claire Vaughan, the business released its first whisky in February 2022, bringing lightly peated English single malt to a site beside the River Derwent.[2][4][6][7][8]

At a glance

What White Peak and Wire Works are known for

White Peak's identity brings together a lightly peated whisky style, a brewing connection and an industrial setting. The production accounts describe English peated and unpeated malt, spent brewer's yeast from Thornbridge Brewery and maturation across several cask types.[5][6][8]

The two names describe different things. According to the published naming account, White Peak refers to the southern half of the Peak District, visible from the site, while Wire Works commemorates the buildings' previous use.[7] That distinction is useful when reading about the producer: White Peak is the distillery, not a separate whisky alongside Wire Works.

Its location also needs a little precision. The distillery is on the edge of the Peak District National Park, rather than described in the supplied account as inside it.[6] The river, woodland and former works belong to the same setting, but each has a different role in the story.

From local roots to a distillery

Max and Claire Vaughan were born, went to school and met in the area. They returned after 13 years in Muswell Hill, London, making White Peak a homecoming as well as a new business.[6]

Their earlier careers brought different experience. Max studied engineering, trained as a chartered accountant and worked in banking; Claire taught for 20 years before retraining in interior design and taking responsibility for brand, packaging and marketing.[4][5]

In his interview with Berry Bros. & Rudd, Max placed the beginning of the planning at “since 2010, maybe”. He contacted Balcones founder Chip Tate through LinkedIn and spent a week with him, an encounter recorded in the same interview.[5] These are Max's recollections of the preparation, distinct from the company's incorporation date.

Story box: a local return becomes White Peak

The works behind the whisky

The producer's history traces the site to an iron forge owned by the Hurt family in the early 1800s. The Johnson family converted it into a wire works in 1876, and the works continued for 120 years before closing in the mid-1990s.[3]

White Peak occupies the former maintenance and stores sheds of a business that once employed more than 500 people. The buildings stand within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, inscribed in December 2001, and back onto Shining Cliff Woods, an ancient woodland and site of special scientific interest.[3]

The connection is more than a name on a bottle. According to the producer, River Derwent water cools the condensers through the old works' pumping equipment.[3] This establishes a cooling-water connection, not the source of the water used for mashing.

The producer records that a temporary bat roost delayed refurbishment while a plan was agreed with Natural England.[3]

Verdict: Documented. The producer's account records the delay and agreement. Contrary evidence is not identified in the sheet. The earliest source of the account is not established; the identified producer's account is undated. The sheet records a check in November 2026, but not the day.

Malt, brewing yeast and copper

The whisky uses English unpeated and peated malted barley, producing the lightly peated style described in the launch coverage.[8] Its brewing link is particularly specific: the published accounts identify spent Jaipur brewer's yeast from Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell.[5][6]

Pellicle reports that Thornbridge was initially wary of connecting its name with the whisky project. Its production director subsequently described the first washes as showing that White Peak was “onto a winner”.[6]

Verdict: Documented. The account records the initial concern and the director's later assessment, which is not an independent tasting verdict. Contrary evidence is not identified in the sheet. The earliest source is not established; the identified Pellicle account is dated July 2025. The sheet records a check in November 2026, but not the day.

The producer describes two hand-built copper whisky stills, with capacities of 3,000 litres and 2,100 litres; the account was checked in November 2026.[3] Max's interview records an 18-month wait between ordering and delivery, another indication of the preparation behind the 2018 commissioning.[5]

Local barley is a separate development from the established English barley supply. Derbyshire-grown barley had been floor malted at Warminster Maltings, but Pellicle reported in July 2025 that none of the resulting whisky had yet been bottled.[6] “Made in Derbyshire” should therefore not be read as a claim that every release uses Derbyshire-grown grain.

Casks and the Wire Works releases

Pellicle's July 2025 account describes a cask programme led by ex-bourbon wood, alongside STR wine, port, Amarone, Moscatel, virgin English oak and quarter casks. It also records around 2,700 barrels on site in May 2025, a dated stock figure rather than a measure of annual production.[6]

The bourbon cask connections include Heaven Hill and the Never Say Die bourbon brand.[6][7] Pellicle recounts how Max bought Heaven Hill barrels, dismantled them for shipping and rebuilt them in England, leading to the Never Say Die arrangement.[6]

Verdict: Documented. The account records the barrel shipment and its connection to the later arrangement. Contrary evidence is not identified in the sheet. The earliest source is not established; the identified Pellicle account is dated July 2025. The sheet records a check in November 2026, but not the day.

The first whisky, Caduro, was released in February 2022, with 5,016 bottles drawn from 15 casks. It combined ex-bourbon and STR casks.[2][6][8] Another named release, Bourbon Barrel, is described as lightly peated, non-chill filtered and bottled at 53.4% ABV.[7]

Other named releases include Coastal Smoke, Alter Ego, Full Port, Madeira Finish, Moscatel Finish, Over Smoke and Virgin Oak.[4][7] These names document the range's development; they are not a statement that every release remains available.

A production and release timeline

Visiting the former works

Pellicle's July 2025 account describes a shop and visitors' centre at the entrance, with tours and tastings.[6] Before travelling, check the official website for current booking arrangements, accessibility information and age conditions rather than treating that report as a live visitor timetable.

For anyone interested in the relationship between a distillery and its surroundings, the recorded details give this site a particular focus: reused maintenance sheds, woodland behind the buildings and industrial pumping equipment serving the condensers.[3] They explain why the former works remain central to White Peak's identity.

Where to go next

• The English Distillery: continue exploring English whisky producers.
• Spirit of Yorkshire and Filey Bay: follow another distillery and whisky brand pairing.
• Penderyn: continue into the neighbouring Welsh distillery coverage.

Sources

1. Companies House. White Peak Distillery Limited, company number 10098181, register record, checked November 2026. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10098181
2. White Peak Distillery, producer's account. Our Story, undated web page, checked November 2026. https://www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk/our-story/
3. White Peak Distillery, producer's account. The Wire Works, undated web page, checked November 2026. https://www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk/waiting-for-whisky/
4. White Peak Distillery, producer's account. Meet the Team, undated web page, checked November 2026. https://www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk/our-story/meet-the-team/
5. Berry Bros. & Rudd. A few words with White Peak Distillery, trade interview, publication date not supplied, checked November 2026. https://www.bbr.com/articles/spirits/white-peak-distillery
6. Pellicle. The Circle is Now Complete: White Peak Distillery in Ambergate, Derbyshire, July 2025, checked November 2026. https://www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/7/6/the-circle-is-now-complete-white-peak-distillery-in-ambergate-derbyshire
7. Master of Malt. Wire Works Whisky Unplugged: The Story of English Whisky's Brightest Spark, trade account, publication date not supplied, checked November 2026. https://www.masterofmalt.com/blog/post/the-making-of-wire-works-whisky/
8. Derby Telegraph. Article on the launch of Derbyshire's first single malt whisky, descriptive reference supplied by the fact sheet, publication date not supplied, checked November 2026. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/derbyshire-couple-spend-14-million-6605477

This article is desk research based on the site's verified fact sheet TOP-A351, distinguishing producer accounts, registry information and published interviews.

Last checked: November 2026