LMDW Selections – whisky

WALES

The new whisky-producing countries have in common a passion for the product and a desire to promote their know-how and terroir

Story

Discover the Penderyn distillery through an animated story

In the 1990s, a group of friends met in a bar in a small Welsh village and decided to open a distillery on land they already owned, the old ruins of the country’s last distillery, which closed in 1903, in the village of Penderyn.

In 1999, they learned of an auction lot containing a Faraday still. Alun Evans called upon the help of his friends and contacts to raise the money to buy it. It had never been used before and arrived unassembled.

The still was created by the physician and chemist of the same name, David Faraday. Unusually it has only a single fractioning column for single distillation and produces a very pure spirit (92°).

Right from the start of the venture, Master Distiller Jim Swan was on hand to help, particularly with the technical details for making sure the still was used in the best possible conditions.

Few stocks of these early years exist today.

But this year La Maison du Whisky has selected two casks from 2004 and 2006.

20 years after the distillery was founded, Penderyn continues to innovate and is now the largest distillery in Wales, with worldwide distribution. 

And its international profile doesn’t end there. The master distiller was brought in especially from Lithuania and casks are selected every year from Kentucky or even Portugal before being brought to Wales… Scotland and Ireland, take note!