Wine in Time Manager Rachel Armstrong recalls her recent visit to Penderyn’s flagship distillery.
At the end of July, I met with master blender Aista Phillips at Penderyn’s flagship Welsh distillery to learn more about their distillation process, and of course, sample some of their award-winning single malt whiskies.
Born from a dream to revitalise Wales's lost distilling tradition, the idea for Penderyn evolved in the late 1990s when a group of friends chatted about establishing the first whisky distillery in Wales in over a century. The village of Penderyn was chosen because of the site’s own supply of fresh natural spring water, and so the distillery was established there, in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park. A unique copper pot still, designed by Dr David Faraday, was installed in 2000. The patented design of a single copper pot (a conventional still using two or three pots) produces a very pure, clean spirit at an industry-high draw of 92%; the resultant whiskies are light, fruity, and flavoursome.
Aista explained that Penderyn’s first distiller, Dr Jim Swan (described as ‘the Einstein of whisky’), was keen to get involved because of the innovative Faraday still, which he deemed to create ‘a world-class spirit’. He developed the house style, which was to finish the whisky in Madeira casks. Fittingly, Penderyn whisky was officially launched on St David’s Day 2004 in the presence of HRH Prince Charles (now King Charles III).
Image: Penderyn Master Distiller Aista Phillips
Penderyn deservedly gained recognition and subsequently expanded with the installation of a replica Faraday still and two lantern stills in 2013, followed by two further distilleries established in Llandudno (2021) and Swansea (2023). Under the skilful eye of its strong team of female distillers, headed up by Aista, their range and styles have expanded to include sherry, peated, and port casks for finishing.
Penderyn whiskies typically undergo initial maturation in hand-selected bourbon barrels – the varying levels of charring inside these oak barrels act both to filter the spirit and to build complexity, flavour, depth, and colour. The house style whiskies are then transferred into Portuguese Madeira wine barriques for final ageing, imparting a rich finish.
The combination of fine barley, fresh spring water, unique stills, the best American oak bourbon casks, and an expert team of female distillers has earned the distillery over 100 Double Gold, Gold and Masters awards.
If you haven’t tried Penderyn whisky yet, give these Welsh gems a try!
Penderyn Celt, Peaty & Citrusy, Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 40% vol
Lightly coloured, delicate-looking spirit. Dried orange peel on the nose enveloped in attractive smoky notes. Clean and very pure on the palate, with a refreshing backbone of lemon and orange balancing the warming peaty smokiness. This is so well balanced, and with great length, this was a real winner for me.
Penderyn Madeira Finish, Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 46% vol
A touch of creamy caramel on the nose with some woody/oaky notes. The creaminess and cinder toffee flavours follow through on the palate. An altogether bigger, denser whisky with lots of complexity and depth of flavour, finishing with orange peel/Seville marmalade notes.
Penderyn Legend, Floral & Fruity, Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 40% vol
Darker in colour than the Celt and riper fruit on the nose of nectarine alongside lemon and honey notes. A deep, rich palate follows with a rounded finish of fruitcake.
