The Process

The first stage of making whisky is to produce a high-quality malted barley wash which, in the case of Penderyn is supplied by expert Welsh brewers S. A. Brain & Co. in Cardiff. S. A. Brain was founded in 1882 and has a long tradition of brewing as Wales's premier private brewery business. We receive our malted barley wash to a strict specification at 8% alcohol by volume. It is produced using only the finest barley grain which imparts a light and fruity flavour to the wash.

"With less made in a year than many distilleries produce in a day, Penderyn is as precious as Welsh gold"

Distillation

We distil our barley wash at Penderyn Distillery in our unique copper still which was designed by Dr David Faraday, a descendent of Sir Michael Faraday. The technical innovation of our still produces not only a barley spirit of great complexity, depth and finesse, but also removes almost all of the undesirable chemical compounds which a conventional two or three pot system cannot. It is here that Penderyn starts to differentiate itself from traditional Scottish and Irish whiskies.

Our new spirit is combined with water from the Penderyn Distillery’s natural spring, located underneath the distillery, and is thus reduced to 63.4% A.B.V. - our cask strength.

The spirit is then filled into casks for maturation. We spare no expense buying the finest Buffalo Trace bourbon casks for the first part of the maturation and we "finish" the whisky by transferring it into Madeira barriques from Portugal for the “flag ship” Madeira Finish brand or a range of other high quality finishes including Oloroso Sherry, Vintage Port and occasionally old Islay whisky barrels.

A Seam of Welsh Gold

With less made in a year than many distilleries produce in a day, Penderyn is as precious as Welsh gold. Our flagship Madeira-finished expression has a classic freshness with aromas of cream toffee, rich fruit and raisins. The palate is crisp and finely rounded, with a sweetness to balance an appetising dryness. Notes of tropical fruit, raisins and vanilla persist in the finish.

It is indeed the smoothest wysgi you’ll every taste.

Fresh and Vibrant

Thanks to the quality and character of our chosen casks, the delicate spirit rapidly develops a sophistication normally confined to much older whiskies; and to retain its freshness and vibrancy we take care never to let Penderyn over-mature.

Art and science come together when our distiller decrees that a cask is ready. Reducing the strength drop by drop with our very own Brecon Spring water, we bottle Penderyn wysgi without chill-filtration.

Explore

If you share our curiosity about the world, our quest for excellence and our pride in the unique spirit of Wales; and above all if you enjoy the company of good friends, we invite you to join us in a glass of Penderyn wysgi.