Archives for March 3, 2021

Sampling Penderyn Whisky For The St. David’s Day Tweet Tastings – What Could Be Better?

March 3, 2021 by Gary Leave a Comment

The Penderyn ‘Gold’ Collection!

To celebrate St. David’s Day, the Welsh Distillery of Penderyn Whisky was the subject of Monday nights @TweetTastings!

On the night, Steve from The Whisky Wire, guided us through Penderyn’s “Gold” Collection which consisted of:-

Penderyn Madeira Finish

Penderyn Rich Oak

Penderyn Sherrywood

Penderyn Portwood

Penderyn Peated

The Penderyn Distillery, which launched in 2000, is located in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales.

Penderyn uses single copper-pot stills for its distillation, which creates a spirit at an industry high of 92%. These stills were created by Dr. David Faraday, descendent of the ground-breaking Victorian scientist, Michael Faraday.

In 2014, Penderyn also commissioned a pair of Scottish-style ‘lantern’ stills (producing spirit at around 67%) to allow them to experiment with new whiskies.

Penderyn proudly boasts an all-female distilling team. Led by Ditillery Manager Laura Davies, along with Blender Aista Jukneviciute and Trainee Distiller Bethan Morgans.

If you want to catch up on what all the tweet tasters had to say you can view their comments by searching for the hash tag #PenderynWhisky on Twitter.

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!

Tasting Notes – Penderyn Madeira Finish (46%)

Penderyn Madeira Finish: 46% ABV – Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Available from their
online store for £41.82 (inc delivery)

The original Penderyn ‘house style’, initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and finished in ex-Madeira wine casks.

Nose: Juicy, crisp green apples with toffee, cereal, a little banana and citrus. There are shades of wood and later on strong aromas of fruit salad sweets which is very welcome!

Palate: Those green apples coming through – quite a sweet dram.

Finish: A little vanilla and then a sharp, intense, peppery finish.

Overall: Pleasant dram with tasty fruits and toffee.

Available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Penderyn Rich Oak (46%)

Penderyn Rich Oak: 46% ABV – Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Available from their online store for £48.00 (inc delivery)

Matured in a combination of specially selected ex-bourbon (Buffalo Trace) and rejuvenated oak casks.

Nose: Creamy toffee, sultanas and apples with some nice orange and cherry. It’s waxy with aromas reminiscent of old books.

Palate: Toffee, some apple and very spicy with fruity, creamy, strawberry tang!

Finish: More spice and it all goes together very nicely!

Overall: A fuller dram with more rich flavours than the Madeira Finish.

Available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Penderyn Sherrywood (46%)

Penderyn Sherrywood: 46% ABV – Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Available from their online store for £45.28 (inc delivery)

Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

Nose: Slow to impart for me this one … A little indistinct with hints of floral, some familiar toffee and cereal but sadly, no sherry aromas.

Palate: Palate is much better than the nose. Some nice toffee notes, very buttery.

Finish: A snappy, peppery finish!

Overall: Not for me sadly but a lot of the other twitter tasters on the night gave it a big thumbs-up! I’ll have to give it another go sometime soon.

Available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Penderyn Portwood (46%)

Penderyn Portwood: 46% ABV – Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Available from their online store for £62.60 (inc delivery)

Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and finished in ex-port casks.

Nose: Port washed fruits and woody aromas – very nice! I’m getting strawberry creams, melted toffee and those fruit salad sweets from earlier are making another appearance but this time cherries have joined them!

Palate: Very sweet and jamy – rather lovely in fact! Bramble jam and sweet port (all jams on toast should be required to have it like that!) with some lovely tropical fruit flavours in the background.

Finish: Smooth and sweet to the last with no real discernable spiciness. Saying that it’s perfectly palatable and not over-sweet at all.

Overall: Glorious dram with lots of aroma and flavour. Highly recommended!

Available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Penderyn Peated (46%)

Penderyn Peated: 46% ABV – Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Available from their online store for £47.77 (inc delivery)

Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) for between 5-8 years, before being finished in ex-Laphroaig casks for several months.

Nose: Yum! Smokehouse rules! Lovely ‘liquid’ smoke with an absract of peat and sweet lemon. In there as well is buttery popcorn and burnt sugar.

Palate: Subtle blend of sweet fruits (lemon) and smokiness – very palatable indeed!

Finish: Buttery, enjoyable finish – again, no pepper but that’s okay!

Overall: A very nice peated dram – very accessable to those new to peated whiskies – and, to be honest, very palatable to those who are well-versed in peated whiskies!

Available to buy from these Merchants:-

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the Penderyn Portwood – I nearly went for the Peated but the Portwood was a nicely balanced revelation!

Many thanks to Penderyn for providing their drams!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire / @TweetTastings) for a great evening and Penderyn (@PenderynWhisky) for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweet Tasters on the night were:-

@TheWhiskyWire @thedramble @whisky_jamie @StillSurreal @whiskyrover @InverurieWhisky @DistilleryBikes @PhilScott101 @newdramrising @VJOsgood @whiskywings @WhiskyUnplugged @whiskeychap @LeedsWine @jwbassman_ @Whiskyviewer @WhiskysideO @MashtunandMeow @MrEdwardMilner @rodbodtoo @CEVokins @samdrinkswhisky @SpiritAndWood @jenkaloid

Penderyn is available to buy from these Merchants:-

Deirdre O’Carroll Appointed As Blender At Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork!

March 3, 2021 by Gary Leave a Comment

Deirdre O’Carroll, newly appointed blender at Irish Distillers

Irish Distillers has announced the appointment of Deirdre O’Carroll as Blender at Midleton Distillery, Co. Cork!

In her new role, Deirdre will work with Master Blender Billy Leighton in Midleton Distillery, and will be responsible for the development of new and existing blends, marrying together specific and intricate flavours and aromas, ultimately, creating a palette of tastes that make up Irish Distillers’ portfolio of Irish whiskeys.

“I look forward to channelling my knowledge and experience into my new role, while learning from Billy and the team.”

She will also be responsible for the management of stock, including cask profile and age profile, as well as laying down stock for future generations.

Deirdre holds a degree in Food Science and Technology from University College Cork and a diploma in Distilling from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Deirdre joined Irish Distillers in 2012 as part of the first year of the Jameson Engineering Programme.

During the two-year programme, Deirdre gained a solid foundation in the whiskey-making process and upon completion, was appointed as a Process Technologist. In this role Deirdre was part of the team involved the commissioning of the new pot stills in the Garden Stillhouse and the new columns in the Midleton Distillery expansion project. Most recently, she served as Bond Supervisor.

There are over 1.7 million casks maturing in Midleton. As Bond Supervisor, Deirdre helped oversee the filling and emptying of these casks with a wider team of 61 people over a split shift.

Deirdre was one of the first graduates to join as part of the Graduate Distiller Programme. The programme is designed to give graduates ownership of their career aspirations, supported by practical experience and training to help them succeed and Deirdre is a shining example of what success looks like.

In a few short years, Deirdre has risen through the ranks, proving how competent and capable she is in the roles that she has held, most recently managing a team of 13 people. She is an invaluable member of the team in Midleton and I am delighted to announce her appointment as blender.
– Billy Leighton: Master Blender at Midleton Distillery

Deirdre will work with Master Blender Billy Leighton in Midleton Distillery and will be responsible for the development of new and existing blends

In simple terms, four simple ingredients can make an array of whiskeys; water, yeast, cereal and wooden casks. However, it is the sensory aspect, balancing the flavours, is what defines the taste.

I look forward to channelling my knowledge and experience into my new role, while learning from Billy and the team.
– Deirdre O’Carroll: Blender at Irish Distillers

Midleton Whiskey is available to buy from these Merchants:-

Waterford Irish Distillery Unveils New ‘Single Farm Origins’ Whiskies For Spring!

March 3, 2021 by Gary Leave a Comment

New Single Farm Origins for Spring!

Winner of the coveted Distiller and Brand Innovator of the Year awards at the 2021 Icons of Whisky Ireland, Waterford Distillery is pleased to announce a new set of Single Farm Origin releases for Spring 2021!

Waterford Whisky is an Irish Single Malt, fully matured (no finishes) in a spectrum of super-premium casks including first-fill and virgin US, and French oak. All whiskies are bottled at 50% ABV without colouring, chill-filtration or any additives.

Hook Head 1.1

Waterford Whisky is influenced by the world’s greatest winemakers, obsessively bringing the same intellectual drive, methodology and rigour to single malt whisky by exploring Irish-grown barley – one farm, one terroir, at a time.

The fully traceable Single Farm Origin whiskies each carry a unique digital number – the TÉIREOIR code – on the back label, which introduces the Irish farm origin, the people that work it, the casks used to compose the whisky, and an array of media.

These Spring releases introduce two new globally available expressions and five national exclusives.

Two Waterford Single Farm Origins will be available worldwide from mid-March onwards:-

Hook Head: Edition 1.1 – The lighthouse at Hook Head, an extreme maritime terroir, stands resolute against the full force of the Atlantic Ocean on Ireland’s southern coast. Exposed to salt-laden storms, Martin Foley’s barley grows on clay/loam soils of the Elton series. This edition is a spice bomb with notes of cloves, salted caramel, liquorice, ginger biscuits, lemon zest, and chilli chocolate.

Lakefield 1.1

Lakefield: Edition 1.1 – Lakefield, inland in lush Co. Laois, is farmed by the enigmatic Seamus Duggan – a Barley Grower of the Year trophy winner. Derived from limestone and sandstone, these well-drained, deep loam soils produce exceptional barley. This edition is a mellow dram with hints of rhubarb and apple tart fresh from the oven.

Part of Waterford’s strategy is to allow individual markets to follow the development of ‘their own’ single terroir over a number of years. Five Single Farm Origins have been allocated to European countries on an exclusive basis:
Grattansbrook: Edition 1.1 – UK only
Lacken: Edition 1.1 – France only
Tinnashrule: Edition 1.1 – Germany only
Mortarstown: Edition 1.1 – Belgium only
Wilkinstown: Edition 1.1 – Netherlands only

We are very proud to have won the top two coveted titles of Distiller and Brand Innovator of the Year at the Icons of Whisky, after just 7 months of our first bottlings.

While our unique terroir approach has been extremely well received, it has been rather frantic meeting the rapid growth – a good problem to have in these troubled times. These new releases allow the discerning drinker to further compare, contrast, and enjoy Irish barley, farm by farm.
– Mark Reynier: Waterford CEO

The internationally renowned Icons of Whisky awards are announced annually by Whisky Magazine, the world’s largest whisky publication. The Icons of Whisky Awards recognise the people, places and products that complete the whole dynamic of the whisky industry. Waterford Distillery – in just seven months of its whiskies being on sale – won not just one, but two of the biggest Icons of Whisky Ireland awards of the event: Distillery
of the Year and Brand Innovator of the Year.

Waterford founder and CEO Mark Reynier has over four decades’ experience in the drinks industry – 20 years in wine, and over 20 years in spirits. A maverick entrepreneur who has done perhaps more than any other figure to apply the rigours of terroir to the spirits world, he began his career in the London wine trade in 1980, formed La Réserve – one of London’s premier wine & spirit merchants – before resurrecting the mothballed Bruichladdich Distillery at the end of 2000.

After introducing pioneering cask finishing policies that went on to change the whisky industry, and launching The Botanist, one of the world’s best-selling gins, Bruichladdich was sold to Rémy Cointreau for £58 million in 2012. Reynier then bought the former Guinness brewery in Waterford in 2014 – transforming a state-of-the-art brewery into a modern distillery, and in September 2020 commenced distillation at the game-changing US$30 million Renegade Rum Distillery in Grenada.

Waterford’s pioneering technology offers unprecedented levels of transparency, and every single bottle features a TÉIREOIR code, which when entered online gives full disclosure on each whisky, including barrel breakdown, barley agronomy, farm origin maps, distillation data, farm photography and field audio.

Waterford is available to buy from these Merchants:-

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Sampling Penderyn Whisky For The St. David’s Day Tweet Tastings – What Could Be Better?