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%)
The original Penderyn ‘house style’, initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and finished in ex-Madeira wine casks.
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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%)
Matured in a combination of specially selected ex-bourbon (Buffalo Trace) and rejuvenated oak casks.
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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%)
Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and ex-Oloroso sherry casks.
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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%)
Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) and finished in ex-port casks.
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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%)
Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels (Buffalo Trace) for between 5-8 years, before being finished in ex-Laphroaig casks for several months.
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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:-
