My annual St. David’s Day post looks at another particularly Welsh instalment from a Welsh whisky maker. So much so, the name doesn’t have a direct English word to translate to.
Hiraeth (pronounced “hear-eye-th”) is a traditional Welsh word which Penderyn describes as “a longing for your homeland, your heritage, and your very being”. I’ve always understood it as a bodily, almost physical, feeling of belonging and… well… Welshness. Something beyond patriotism.
This whisky is the 8th instalment in Penderyn’s ongoing Icons of Wales series – a collection of whiskies which has the very aspirational target of hitting 50 editions. After 24 years of distilling, the series sits at 11 instalments (the most recent being their Patagonia release – a distillery first by blending their Welsh spirit with that of a Patagonia-based whisky distillery called La Alazana).
The whisky here has been solely matured in ex-bourbon barrels and is the first release from Penderyn to predominantly feature spirit made from their traditional copper pot still, rather than their signature Faraday still.
The exact proportions are not known, nor is the age of the constituent whiskies, but we do know that it is finally bottled at 46% ABV at its natural colour and without chill-filtration.
The bottle is presented in a gold wrap with black welsh dragon, itself then housed in a gorgeous black metal tube with the Welsh dragon embossed in gold. As with the rest of the series, whilst we don’t know the number of bottles releases, the production will essentially be a one-off, and as such numbers are limited.
Nose
A nice big sweet smell of vanilla. There’s a comforting smell of bananas and Ambrosia custard too. Sweet malt and fresh oak show off some classic single malt credentials.
Taste
The sugary sweet flavours continue to roll out with initial tastes of barley sugars, icing sugar, butterscotch, and clotted cream with scones [ed: there is no jam though – no big juicy fruits at play here]. There’s a clean rum-like vanilla too, rounded out by some malted milk biscuits flavours and gentle oak spices.
Finish
The oak spice gently tingles whilst the icing sugar and vanilla notes linger.
Verdict
Very probably my favourite Penderyn. It’s pretty linear in terms of a tasting experience, but it is a really good one. Just a lovely clean dram.
Using the word Hiraeth is another gem from Penderyn’s marketing team whilst trying to mine for 50 things that the distillery are looking to celebrate as part of the Icons of Wales series. A simple name and actually one that I think best matches the whisky on offer: essentially the closest that you can get to Penderyn’s pure spirit. Nearly every Penderyn before it (and after) has had another cask finish or maturation brought into the equation. By trying this purely Bourbon cask maturation – the cask type that nearly all Penderyn spirits finds itself initially housed in – their standard use of influences through multiple cask types have been minimised here to exploring the basics of the Penderyn spirit itself and the sweet vanilla and oaky influences of the Buffalo Trace barrels.
Another unique feature of this whisky here – and possibly why my naturally scotch-aligned tastebuds are particularly shining to this expression – is that this is the first release which features mainly pot still distilled spirits. From day one, using the flexibility afforded by not being subject to the Scottish whisky making requirements, Penderyn have used their Faraday still to create a very high ABV base spirit. As part of their ongoing expansion, Penderyn have a more traditional copper pot still available. The malt characteristics of this whisky do seem warmer and more recognisably malty than Penderyn’s Gold or Dragon range of core releases.
Onto the packaging and I’m not really a fan of the gold wrap around the bottle – nor any opaque wrap for that matter. You can’t actually see into the bottle and therefore can’t see how much is in there nor the colour of the liquid itself. However, I am rather fond of the black tin tube with the gold embossed dragon. Being Welsh, I am somewhat biased. But it is gorgeous, isn’t it?
Overall, a very welcome addition to the WU cabinet (both the 🏴 tube and the whisky itself) and a great sign of Penderyn’s continued experimentation and growth.
M
Sample disclosure: I purchased this bottle directly from the Penderyn distillery, Llandudno. All notes are intended as an honest, fair, and independent review of the whisky, and not as a promotion. Please drink responsibly. Please drink wisely.
whisky unplugged 