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White Peak breaks record at auction

UK-based White Peak Distillery has sold the first numbered bottle of its Wire Works Whisky for £9,900 (US$11,377), setting a new record for English whisky at auction.

White Peak
Wire Works Whisky was released in February 2022

The distillery sold the first 12 bottles of its individually-numbered inaugural Wire Works Whisky for more than £15,000 (US$17,238) at auction.

Wire Works Whisky bottle #1 sold for £9,900 – the highest price paid at public auction for a single bottle of English whisky, according to research from publicly available data.

Claire Vaughan, co-founder of White Peak Distillery, said: “We are absolutely delighted and humbled by the response to this charity auction. To have raised over £15,000 for our charity partners alongside Whisky Auctioneer is very special… not to mention a special moment for English whisky.”

Released in February this year, Wire Works is said to be Derbyshire’s first single malt whisky.

Vaughan added: “We hope that the proceeds can help to support our local community and some fantastic environmental projects for both Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the Peak District National Park Foundation.”

The local Derbyshire charities will receive 100% of the proceeds from the auction.

The auction ran from 26 August to 5 September, and more than 370 bids were received from buyers in the UK, Denmark, Singapore, China and Andorra.

Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer, said: “To break the world record in such a fast-growing category with a distillery’s first release is momentous and we congratulate Max [Vaughan, co-founder], Claire and their colleagues.

“This historic moment challenges the traditional dominance of established regions such as Scotland and Ireland in the single malt category, and we look forward to the future development of England’s vibrant whisky industry.

“We are proud to have supported the White Peak team in raising over £15,000 for charity with the inclusion of Whisky Auctioneer’s donation of £1,394.30.”

Since the release of the inaugural bottling in February, the producer has created four more whiskies, including Wire Works Whisky Small Batch.

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