6 years' a start-up

White Peak Distillery is Derbyshire’s first full-scale craft distillery, making award-winning whisky, gin and rum with a proud Derbyshire provenance.  

Founded in 2016, they're still close to the beginning of their whisky journey. They released their first Wire Works Whisky in February 2022 and have been humbled by the response. With real excitement for the future, with plenty of whisky releases planned throughout the year.   

An extract from the White Peak website from Max - In mid-2016 we had no premises, no partners or staff, no permits or consents, nowhere near enough funding and no track record in the drinks & spirits industry. But I had a dream that I’d been carrying for years, of making whisky and other spirits in Derbyshire. I was fortunate to find some investors who liked my ideas, I met two great distillers and I found the perfect premises. I decided I’d reached my now.

With a life-long passion for whisky inherited from his Dad, Max wanted to build a distillery to produce authentic English whisky and establish a destination to celebrate the craft of distilling. Six years down the road, White Peak is established, the first whisky has come of age, and Max heads up a growing team of 10.

Max’s White Peak drink of choice is of course Wire Works Whisky, neat, full-on strength, no ice.

During the chat with Max, we discuss:

• His very impressive journey
• Designing the perfect equipment
• White Peak 'Place'
• Being a start-up for 6 years
• Investment based on a long term plan
• Reaching "my now"
• What's coming next for White Peak