In the dim and distant past Johnson & Nephew used to ship their quality cable products to the USA. In the last year we’ve had some other quality product cover the reverse journey; in mid-2022 we welcomed 100 full barrels of Never Say Die  bourbon into our warehouse at the Wire Works.

Never Say Die, is a Kentucky-born bourbon that, at the age of 5 years crossed the Atlantic in barrels to finish its maturation here in our Derbyshire warehouse.  Shipping bourbon in barrel across the open seas is very rare, and the ocean voyage plays its part in the final product.  Once further matured here in Ambergate, we’re bottling and labelling the bourbon before despatch to distributors and onto its final customer resting place.

The beauty for WPD of this collaboration with our friends at NSD is that, once the bourbon is dumped, we get to keep the super-fresh empty bourbon barrels to fill with our own single malt spirit.  Estimates are that 80+% of whisky maturing in the UK is in ex-bourbon barrels but we reckon the just-dumped freshness gives our whisky a little bit extra.  And the Never Say Die bourbon also happens to be rather nice….

We’ll be releasing a Wire Works Whisky matured in NSD barrels from 2023 onwards, once we’re happy the time’s right. In the meantime, we’ll occasionally pick our own barrel of NSD bourbon to bottle and sell at cask strength. Bottlings will be available in our Distillery shop, and online to mailing list subscribers through a direct link (you won’t find it on our website).

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