Wire Works | Whisky Lady

After some mighty fine drams from all over Scotland at London Whisky Show 2024, it was time to turn to a new English distillery – Wire Works.

Wire Works Caduro 46.8%

Nose – A bit harsh at first, then revealed rose petal, sweet peat, and sherry
Palate – Soft peat, savoury, salty, elegant
Finish – Salty finish with a bit of sage

Overall we found it quite savoury and vegetal.

Wire Works Bourbon 53.4%

Nose – Melons, a hint of peat, more sweet than peat though
Palate – Yum! This works – back to the basics with bourbon. A nice oily quality, creamy quality.
Finish – A touch of spice

There was a lovely texture to this one. No hiding the whisky character with finishes – it shone through clearly.

Wire Works Moscatel 53.6%

Nose – Citrus fresh
Palate – A bit sour, surprisingly creamy, nutty, like marzipan, quite interesting sweet and sour
Finish – Savoury

There was a distinctive aamchor element to this whisky! Aamchor is a dried mango powder that adds a nice tartness to dishes. Overall we described this dram as quite khatta meetha – in other words sour and sweet.

Wire Works Madeira 53.6%

Nose – Fruity, sweet. much more subtle than the Moscatel, dark cherries
Palate – Juicy and well rounded
Finish – Quite a dry finish

The Madeira has personality. From a fruity juicy palate to dry finish, this was a nice way to finish our explorations of Wire Works.

Our previous experiences with whiskies from England were primarily with Cotswold,

Cotswolds

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After a day of mostly Scottish drams, we decided to shift gears to check out a new English entrant – Wire Works from Derbyshire.

Wire Works Caduro 46.8% GBP 60

Nose – A bit harsh – young and brash with a hit of alcohol, then some rose petals, sweet
Palate – Some soft peat, slightly astringent, some spice and salt
Finish – A very salty finish, joined by sage too which was a bit curious

Not so sure we were off to a good start here… and admit we struggled to see this as “award winning.” The peat was a mild 20 PPM with the cask and STR ie shaved, toasted, and re-charred red wine barrique.

Wire Works Bourbon 53.4% GBP 65

Nose – We found melons, a hint of peat, more sweet than anything else. Think of a fruit dessert, some ginger, vanilla ice cream
Palate – Yum! This works! It is back to the basics with bourbon. Oily, nice texture, more of that ginger
Finish – Leave with a nice peppery spice

I noted that this one was a good way to judge the whisky character – no hiding beneath fancy finishes.

Wire Works Moscatel 3 years 53.6% Bottle 340 / 651 GBP 75

Nose – Quite fresh – lots of citrus
Palate – Sour initially, surprisingly creamy, a bit nutty, marzipan, dried mango powder, gooseberries
Finish – Curiously savoury

We were reminded of snacks that are “khatta meetha” a bit sweet and sour. There is a distinctive ‘aamchor’ mango powder in India which adds a nice tangy element to certain dishes.

Wire Works Madeira Finish 53.6% Bottle 330 / 671 GBP 75

Nose – Fruity, sweeter than the Moscatel, more subtle too, with dark cherries
Palate – Personality came through – juicier, some spice
Finish – A dry finish

An interesting introduction. I’m not completely sold on all the expressions, however that’s often the case with younger distilleries experimenting with different elements til they hit their stride.

So far, our English whisky explorations have been limited to just three distilleries – with Cotswolds the one we’ve sampled the most!