Review 250. Ready for the OSWA’s, part 3: Are new distilleries still as exciting?

White Peak Distillery: if you know, you know…(And more and more people know)

When the peak of the whisky boom was at its height 3 or 4 years ago, it was impossible to keep track of all the exciting new things happening in whisky wonder land. The new kids in town were, well, the talk of the town and it was almost as if established distilleries were getting benched because everyone was keen to see the new players on the pitch. Everyone, yours truly included,  was busy talking about Ardnamurchan, Raasay, Dornoch, Nc’Nean, Torabhaig, Glasgow, Lindores and so on, and I still believe that having them arrive on the scene when they did had a positive impact on the entire landscape and industry. Quite a few of those new distilleries brought with them a pioneering spirit when talking production. With a keen eye on their carbon footprint, by taking things like ‘locality’ and ‘community’ serious, and by combining  integrity driven presentation with factual (rather than copy-pasting meaningless boring old clichés) branding they were very much ‘in tune’ with what many customers were looking for. In that regard they encouraged or prompted  many of those well established distilleries to at least take a look in the mirror.

And now that the dust has settled and the hype is passed its peak, up to the point where we’re starting to see the backlash of things with the current glass loch casting  a serious shadow over the future of the industry, those ‘new and exciting’ producers from 5 years ago will need to have taken the next step by now. If they know what’s good for them an want to avoid being a flash in the pan and yesterday’s news, at least. I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again: the rising tide may indeed lifts all the ships, but when the storm rolls in, it’s usually the smaller boats that get smashed and sunk first. So they better made sure they’ve made themselves if not bigger, than surely stronger and heftier, with a full set of measures at their disposal to see things through.

While I wish nothing but the best for everyone bold and brave enough to start the wild, costly and uncertain adventure of starting a new distillery, I fear for those who took the ‘make money fast’ direction at pretty much the first T-junction by instantly trying to cash in on inaugural releases, or by deliberately (and unnecessarily) premiumizing their product. Sure it meant (much needed)  revenue there and then, but also I can’t help but feel that they missed the opportunity to build consumer trust, let alone a fanbase. With increasing pressure on shelves (and prices), why on earth would we still be trying to buy that +100 quid bottle of 4 or 5 yo from (insert name of overpriced 21^st century distillery here)? Especially when there are plenty of other young  distilleries who do price their releases fairly but somehow didn’t get to enjoy the same praise or hype as some of their peers . Sure they are recognized and now  ‘established’ as part of the whisky landscape, but you can’t deny the fact that some of them never quite reached the same level or reverence as say, Ardnamurchan, Raasay, Lagg or Ardnahoe. Possibly, hopefully, this might change in the future as there are quite a few ‘slow burners’ who are only now starting to show their full potential. Glasgow immediately springs to mind and can now easily be added to that list of young starlet producers, but I’m also thinking about Clydeside and even Nc’Nean or Glen Wyvis.  Ardnamurchan et al are  examples of distilleries who did get it right, most of them from day 1, with fairly priced, quality releases. They developed and grew as they built a name, a reputation and, indeed, a fanbase, and have since easily passed the stages of bringing an interesting  ‘novelty factor’ and have, in a way, become part of the ‘canon’.

Add to this list, if you will, a distillery not from Scotland, but from England, which embraced a similar ‘ethos’, with a clear focus on quality. I’ve already sang White Peak’s laurels some two years ago, and therefore it comes as no surprise to me to see them getting not one, but two nominations in this year’s OSWA’s. Once in the ‘best new distillery’ category and once for ‘best non scotch whisky’.  I’m almost inclined to say: what took so long, but I get why and how, I think. While imo the praise is deserved, I feel I need to point out that said opinion is based on just a few limited experiences I’ve had with them. In fact, so far I’ve only got to try 3 samples from them, and two of them have been from the same release (with two years in between). So availability and distribution is limited, in this case painstakingly so, as it is rather difficult to get your hands on anything  White Peak if you’re not on British soil.

Arguably this makes a nomination in the non-scotch and new distillery list even more impressive. I don’t know the numbers, I imagine the major part of OSWA voters are UK-based; but nonetheless, for an English distillery with a limited capacity (60,000 LPA – that’s Daftmill limited, to give you an idea, although from what I gather they’re aiming to double their outturn in the future), making it anything but a given to find even in the UK to bag two nominations, is quite an achievement.

Wire Works ‘First release’ (White Peak Distillery). 50.3% ABV, NC, UCF, STR and bourbon cask matured, 2022 release.

So if you clicked that link in the previous paragraph, you’ll see that back in September of 2023 I reviewed the same expression as I’ll be reviewing today. They are from two different samples and I generally had no idea they were one and the same until I read back the original post I did two years ago.  For your convenience (and those who can’t be bothered to click the link) I’ll add my notes from 2023 here as well. The first one I tried came courtesy of James Burgoyne, general good egg and proud member of the NWA( Notthingham Whisky Association), the city in close proximity of the distillery (some 20 miles northwest out of Nottingham). Today’s sample comes from the wonderful group of whisky enthusiasts dubbed the CO’s – Certified Originals, which was founded back in 2020 as a group of friends and enthusiasts orbiting the now discontinued channel New Dram Drinker, now mostly through Discord. And although Anthony and Nicky have stopped making content, their legacy very much lives on and their videos are well worth a watch as they’ve been really well made, informative yet tongue in cheek, and above all so very honest and bare of any pretentiousness. Here’s to you chaps!

Nose

Fruity, spirit-y, bready and spicy. Let’s dissect that a bit, shall we? Plenty of white fruit of apricot and peach and unripe banana with a dense, jammy-marmalade like element to it. Notes of sweet, honeyed cereals with some cold brew coffee to counter it. What’s particularly interesting, is how each changes and goes back and forth between all of these as the dominant element each time I stick my nose in the glass.

2023 notes: Fruity, fruity and fruity! White fruit, to be precise with soft notes of (unripe) banana and melon. Sherbet and cream, vanilla and a whiff of raspberry and a gentle citric like mineral note. An almost understated layer of nuts and spices underneath it all.

Palate

Slightly fizzy-effervescent arrival, which is driven by all those fruit notes with again honey and cereal and pepper and baking spice notes in hot pursuit. There’s a hint of wood on a dense, slightly dry mouthfeel.

2023 notes: Immediately, this is a different altogether from what I picked up on the nose. Very interesting indeed! There’s still sweetness, but now it’s coming from licorice wood and dried fruits.  There’s a fizzy mouthfeel to it, which is surprising as the overall sensation of things is noticeably heavier than you would guess based on the nose.  A small drop of water even brings out a tropical touch, with notes of warming, sweet pepper and sandalwood. Very busy and very engaging, and to think this isn’t even 5 years old!

Finish

Long, echoing those spice and pepper notes.

2023 notes: Not short, but also not very long either, with a clinging sweetness. With the added water (easy does it here!) it became a bit longer, with a slight peppery prickle to it.

Final thoughts

This again confirms to me that what they do has quality pursuit at the heart and center of things. I will admit that I tend to agree with what STR casks have to offer and I know not everyone is on the same page where these rejuvenated casks are concerned.  But still you can’t deny that while this may indeed be a bit ‘turbocharged’, it ‘s also bursting with flavour and texture. On a side note, I’m also rather pleased that there is an overlap between my current tasting notes and those from 2023, if only to have a bit of confirmation that my palate isn’t quickly altering (or deteriorating).

Does a distillery ‘need’ an award, OSWA or otherwise, to gain critical and/or popular acclaim? I think not. I hope not, as it would be bad news for an awful lot of them who work very hard every day to produce something tasty, to be enjoyed by many, but who rarely get a spot in the footlights. Rather, and I think that is where one of the strengths of something like the OSWA’s lie, is that getting an nomination, a win, a mention in the ‘people choice awards’, … means that what they’re doing is getting noticed and is being appreciated by the people who actually spend their money buying  and drinking whisky. It’s a confirmation and a sign of appreciation to producers, brands and bottlers, and to enthusiasts, seasoned or beginners, if not a guideline than definitely a list of suggestions to try and explore. Heck, it’s what persuaded me to give Arran 10– a whisky I tried back in my earlier days of exploring and put down as OK, but little more – another go and I was absolutely pleasantly surprised. So listening to what the community has to say is rarely a bad thing if you’re keen to explore and try new whiskies from old and new distilleries alike. Provided you can actually find the buggers, of course…