“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. It’s a reflection of our shared heritage and commitment to quality.”

Max Vaughan, Founder, White Peak Distillery

Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish is a bold expression of our core values – provenance, heritage, and flavour – brought to life through a unique collaboration with our neighbours at Thornbridge Brewery.

This release is a dual maturation of our lightly peated spirit, first aged in ex-bourbon barrels before being finished in casks that previously held Necessary Evil, Thornbridge’s acclaimed imperial stout. This partnership allows us to layer genuine local provenance and character into the whisky.

The finishing casks – STR (shaved, toasted, recharred ex-red wine casks) – began life ageing Wire Works whisky, then matured Necessary Evil stout (winner of the World Beer Awards 2024 World’s Best Flavoured Beer), before returning to us for one final transformation. A journey of flavour, friendship, and a shared commitment to quality.

“The final Necessary Evil finish is around eight months. We filled the casks leaving deliberate headspace to encourage oxidation during finishing, resulting in mellow, fruity, and wood notes on the nose, and complex background with mellow tropical fruit on the palate.”

Tom Lindsey, White Peak Whisky Ambassador

Rather than vatting a large volume of ex-bourbon matured spirit and re-racking it into the stout casks, each of the 12 casks was filled individually by siphoning directly from 12 ex-bourbon barrels. Due to natural evaporation (the angel’s share), each barrel had reduced from its original 200L to around 180L. With the stout casks having a capacity of approximately 225L, this left around 45L of headspace – creating conditions for accelerated oxidation. Of these 12 casks, about two-thirds developed noticeable aromas attributed to this rapid oxidation.

Although the stout casks had been largely emptied before filling, some beer sediment – including dead yeast cells – remained trapped within the charred surfaces. When it came time to disgorge, the whisky was run slowly through a filter sock into IBCs to capture as much sediment as possible without clogging. The liquid was split across two IBCs and left for nearly a week to allow fine sediment to settle. We then gently pumped the clear whisky off the top using an adapted U-bend, avoiding disturbance, before passing it through our standard 100, 40, and 20 micron filters in the warehouse. Finally, it undergoes a 10 micron filtration in the bottling shed before being bottled.

Interestingly, one of the distinct flavour characteristics in this whisky – its nutty, specifically hazelnut notes – may come from the spirit resting on the beer sediment. This results from autolysis, where yeast cells break down in the presence of high-strength ethanol, releasing savoury and nutty aromas into the whisky.

This is the third bottling in the Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish series since 2022. Each edition is unique due to the individual journey of its finishing casks. Wire Works Necessary Evil won Gold at the 2022 Global World Whisky Masters.

TASTING NOTES

Overview: Sweet and savoury with hazelnuts, freshly roasted coffee, dark chocolate, dates, cranberry, and a gentle wisp of smoke.

Nose: Vanilla fudge, milk chocolate digestive biscuits, freshly roasted coffee, hazelnuts, flaked almonds, crème brûlée, baked apple pie, cassia, marzipan, sage, strawberry laces.

Palate: Cacao nibs, Black Forest gateaux, cracked black peppercorns, salted caramel, Marmite on toast, butter pastry, Medjool dates, Seville orange marmalade, hint of spearmint, fresh espresso, soft white candy.

Finish: Rich dark chocolate, tobacco, Murray Mints, dark cherries, roasted malt, touch of smoke.

Release date Friday 25 July