Our Company

Penderyn Distillery is based in the traditional village of Penderyn, which itself lies within the southern reaches of the scenic Brecon Beacons National Park. The area has spectacular mountain scenery, open moorland and valleys containing fast-flowing streams, rivers and waterfalls. The famous and popular Scwd-yr-Eira waterfall is within walking distance of the distillery.

Prince Charles at Penderyn single malt Welsh whisky launch

Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky was first launched on St David’s Day, 1st March 2004, in the presence of HRH Prince Charles, to huge critical acclaim from both acknowledged whisky experts and "ordinary" consumers. Indeed, The Welsh Whisky Company has already won a number of prestigious international awards for the quality and taste of the whisky and for its distinctive and stylish packaging.

Prince Charles at Penderyn Visitor Centre launch

The company remains privately owned and managed by a committed, professional and enthusiastic team of individuals. A recent major development at Penderyn was the June 2008 opening, again by HRH Prince Charles, of our new Visitor Centre. This allows curious tourists and whisky enthusiasts alike to come to Penderyn and learn at first hand about distillation in Wales, seeing the production process from beginning to end and sampling the company’s products for themselves.

Our Philosophy

In a world of globalised, multi-national and multi-brand companies it is important to understand that Penderyn is a small distillery. In fact we are very, very small. Some distilleries, even premium brands, produce more in a day than we produce in a year. (There is more Chateau d’Yquem released each year than Penderyn).

Penderyn is what the marketing people would call a ‘discovered brand’. First, it was discovered by the Welsh, who initially bought this, the first Welsh malt whisky in over 100 years, out of pride and patriotism. Later it was discovered by a small band of connoisseurs around the world, perhaps who had visited Wales, and who spread the word that this was not only a distinctive modern brand but also a malt whisky with a uniquely delicate and complex character. As word has spread, demand has been such that all our export markets have had to be placed on strict allocation.

All this is just as well – we have spent virtually nothing on marketing outside of Wales and have no intention of doing so, preferring to invest in the quality of our spirit. We put enormous pride and passion into producing our Penderyn barley spirit, most of which goes on to age in our cellars and to be bottled as Penderyn single malt Welsh whisky. Tiny quantities are diverted to craft our other premium products.

What is meant by premium?

prem-ium (pre'me'em) noun - very high value; adjective - rated as superior in quality and sold at a higher price; idiom - very valuable, usually because of scarcity; modif - prime, superior, select, selected.

All Penderyn's spirits are premium or super-premium and are produced in small batches using only the finest available ingredients and traditional production methods. In the case of our single malt whisky, an awful lot of time is also involved.