Like many businesses, Woven runs on coffee. In Leith, we’re spoiled for choice with incredible cafés and roasters on our doorstep. Most big decisions, deep conversations, and creative breakthroughs happen over a cup of the black stuff. A day in the blending lab doesn’t really begin until the first pour-over has been brewed—the aroma fills the room as whisky samples are poured, then we move from coffee to whisky - the air is refreshed, palates cleansed and prepped, and the 'serious business' of tasting whisky begins. Maybe that’s where this project first sparked.
The idea really took shape during an event we hosted with Cairngorm Coffee in Edinburgh. For a pop up event we created a hybrid spirit—a loose concept built around their exceptional Geisha coffee. The response that night was electric. Nobody slept, but the seed was planted.
Fast forward to the London Whisky Show, where Woven Co-Founder and Whisky Maker Pete Allison crossed paths with Claire Wallace of Assembly Coffee Roasters. Both are expert blenders in their respective fields and share a deep curiosity about flavour. Over a few cups of coffee (and a few drams—you know how these shows go), a friendship was born, and the hybrid spirit idea was revisited. But this time, it had more purpose: to create something that truly represented the best of whisky and coffee without relying on the sugar-laden sweetness typically seen in similar products. The goal? A new spirit drink that was true to the craft of both specialty worlds, that would excite drinkers of both, and was trulygreater than the sum of its parts.
Pete and Claire worked closely together, exchanging ideas and refining their components. Pete crafted a proprietary whisky blend, featuring a light Speyside for fruit and malt, balanced with a single grain for subtle sweetness—leaving room for the coffee to shine. Meanwhile, Claire adjusted the roast profile of Assembly’s single-origin El Vergel Guava Banana, enhancing its bright tropical notes of pineapple and strawberry to complement the whisky.
The coffee was cold-brewed and used to cut the whisky from cask strength to bottling strength, with less than 1% sugar added to maintain mouthfeel. The result is WXC: a spirit drink that bridges two worlds, blending whisky and coffee into something entirely new.
