Origin: Penderyn (Wales)
Type: Single Malt Welsh Whisky
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Peated whisky
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Penderyn Distillery
Average price: € 55.00
Official website: penderyn.wales
Vote: 82/100
Another round in the finishings of Welsh whisky from the Gold series, this time starting with a classic maturation in ex-Bourbon and finishing in casks that have contained Scotch peat whisky from Islay.
Not a peated whisky in the true sense of the word then, more an tourby if you will allow me the neologism, produced in 5,000 bottles per batch.
Tasting notes
The nose is a mixture of fruity and vegetal notes, intertwining apricot, peach, green apple, celery, fennel and heather, with a very marked vein of wet stone. The smoke expresses a medicinal soul, not particularly pronounced and more evident in length. It also becomes sweeter over time, with flashes of vanilla and cereals that stagger over the mineral and smoky accents.
On the palate it’s lively and spicy, with pepper and ginger sizzling on the palate accompanying a gust of smoke that’s more ashy than on the nose, paving the way for an initial compote of fruit and custard, which is soon assailed by the vegetable and mineral ripples that take over, scattering brushstrokes of anise, almonds and lemon.
The finish is quite short and very dry, with vegetal notes, mineral smoke, almonds and apple.
Messy and ruffled, drinking it feels a bit like watching a brawl of aromas and flavours, fighting for prominence without ever finding a point of balance. Unsuccessful? Probably, but in the end it’s entertaining and far from banal, with the flaw of not carrying its contradictions through to the end in a finale that could have been more incisive.