Distillery

Penderyn whiskies

Penderyn is the distillery that brought whisky back to Wales after more than a century of absence. It is in the village of the same name, at the foot of the Bannau Brycheiniog mountains, in the south of the country. It is known for a very particular still, which combines a pot still with a column, and for its Madeira wine cask finishes. Its style is light, fruity and elegant, very different from Scotch whisky.

Founded
2000
Owner
Origin
Wales
In the catalogue
8 whiskies

History, style and where to startSee it on the world mapPenderyn official website

  • Penderyn distillery, photo 1 of 3
    Photo: JTreg62 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Penderyn distillery, photo 2 of 3
    Photo: Niels Broekzitter from Piershil, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)
  • Penderyn distillery, photo 3 of 3
    Photo: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped and converted)

8 whiskies

Guide to Penderyn

History

A group of Welsh friends set up a company at the end of the nineties with the idea of reviving Welsh whisky, which had disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century. For their distillery they commissioned a still of their own design, which produces a very fine, high-strength spirit in a single step. The distillery began distilling in 2000 and its first whisky went on sale in 2004, on St David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. Since then it has grown a great deal, has opened two more distilleries in Wales and exports to dozens of countries.

House style

Penderyn’s spirit is very light and clean, thanks to its hybrid still. The house matures it mainly in bourbon casks and finishes it in Madeira, sherry or port casks. The resulting style is fruity and fresh: tropical fruit, raisins, vanilla, citrus, honey and a touch of toffee. It uses no peat in its core range, although there are smoky versions.

Average flavour profile of its 8 whiskies in the catalogue

Sweet
3.2
Fresh fruit
2.9
Ripe and dried fruit
1.4
Floral and herbal
1.3
Cereal and malt
1.5
Vanilla and creamy
2.4
Oak
1.4
Spicy
1.6
Toasted
1.1
Smoky
0.6
Maritime
0.1
Body and intensity
2.0

Where to start

Penderyn Legend is the way in: light, fruity and easy, with a touch of Madeira. Penderyn Madeira Finish is the house’s flagship expression, with more strength and body, and a good way to see the character of Welsh whisky. Both are good options if you are after something different from Scotch. Drink them neat or with a few drops of water, and compare them with a light Scotch malt to notice the difference.

This text was generated and translated by AI and may contain errors. Founding year, owner and official website come partly from Wikidata.

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