2023 has seen the White Peak distillery release a fair few expressions of their single malt English whisky but you might argue that none is more important than the Caduro.
Pronounced “kah-doo-rho”, this single malt has been pitched as the distillery’s first main staple and core release.
The whisky is named after a type of wire that was produced in their site back when it was the Johnson & Nephew wire works factory. (Which is also the reason behind the White Peak’s whiskies being branded under the name of “Wire Works”).
The distillery have been honing their lightly peated craft and have arrived at a mix of 80%/20% unpeated to peated malted barley in their main mash. The Caduro also looks to bring together the influences of their main two cask types sourced for the site: 70% from their STR (shaved, toasted, and re-charred) red wine casks from Portugal, and 30% from their spirit matured in Heaven Hill’s Evan Williams bourbon whiskey barrels.
As with all their releases to date, the whisky is packaged without an age statement in their gorgeous unique bottles, and they are not afraid to pack in the ABV (most releases have been over 50%!). The Caduro is captured at 46.8%, at its neutral colour and without chill-filtration, totalling around 5,500 bottles in the first batch, priced at £60 RRP per 70cl bottle.
Nose
Pretty tight at first – lot of influences vying for your attention. Primarily, honeyed fruits and oak fragrances fill the nostrils. A bit of time reveals some sweeter berry notes: strawberries and raspberries, in particular. As the recipe suggests, a subtle peat smoke lies beneath, which sits well with the oak spice.
Taste
There’s a good rich toffee flavour opening proceedings before your classic single malt apple and pear notes appear. These are then joined by some sweeter tropical fruit flavours that remind me of oranges, apricot, papaya, and maybe even pineapple. There’s definitely a little tang of something in there, like you get from orange pith. This is later joined by a slowly building oak spice and a real trail-mix style blend of fruit and nut flavours.
Finish
The orange, nut, and spice flavours tingle on for a good length of time but, despite never making too much of an appearance for all the sweet and fruity flavours, it’s actually the gentle sweet peat smoke that remains behind as the final sensation.
Verdict
There’s a lot of delicious things going on and they are all well balanced. It’s a great display of what they do and where they’ve arrived at from their creations to date.
I’ve sampled several of the Wire Works whiskies previously, and this genuinely seems to pick and choose the key elements from those releases. That said, despite being one of the lower ABV releases (though still at a generous 46.8%), it may be one of the punchier whiskies that I’ve experienced from the White Peak distillery. I think that’s the oak spice and nutty tang playing together with the heat from the alcohol.
What I particularly enjoyed about this is that the sweeter and fruitier elements all work well and are underpinned by the subtle peat smoke, but then that smoke somehow remains as the lasting sensation despite never really dominating at any other point.
I visited the White Peak distillery in November and it was refreshing to attend a very relaxed and honest tour. What was evident was that they were very proud of what they’ve been able to produce there. With the Evan Williams bourbon barrels and Portuguese STR casks as their mainstay maturations, this whisky represents their best amalgam of their resources, whilst leaving plenty of room for experimentation and other cask finishing.
Overall, a punchy and fruity pleaser with over half the bottle having swiftly vanished during the festive period.
M
whisky unplugged 