The Penderyn empire is expanding. Having kick started the whisky revolution in Wales at the start of the century, their fan base and output has grown and grown. So much so, that the brand now has 3 operational distilleries underway: the original site in Penderyn itself, the second site in a gorgeous old school building (by which I mean an actual school) in Llandudno, and now at the former Copperworks site in Swansea. As the name of this whisky suggests – this 12th release in their Icons of Wales series is paying homage to that third site and Swansea’s industrial heritage as the forerunner in copper smelting.
As the marketing suggests, Swansea was reportedly referred to as Copperopolis in the 1700-1800s as the town was built up around its smelting industry. With its port access to the Cornish copper mines and its own supply of coal, Swansea was built around the copper trade and even meant itself to the world leading “Welsh Process” for that craft.
Here we have a Swansea focus on the malt being produced, and a gorgeously packaged bottle of Penderyn spirit to prove it. As with virtually all Penderyn releases, there is no age statement attached to the whisky, and the base spirit has seen a finial finishing period in a different cask style. In this case: sweet red wine casks.
Presented at 46% ABV, this limited release is bottled with its natural colour and without chill-filtration. At the time of release a bottle has an RRP of £65 GBP.
Nose
An instant sweet, floral, and fruity arrival with a hint of something thicker and richer in the back. Initial thought was a sweet old peach melba scent. The fruity flavours get richer with time and was joined by raisins and cherries. There’s a sweet malty note too that reminds me of hobnob biscuits. There’s red wine cask influence lurking in the back.
Taste
A sweet fruity orange peach flavour arrives at first. A series of sweet and indulgent flavours arrive with honey, strawberries, and biscuit. The peach melba flavour is there but becomes more of a peach tea flavour as there’s a slightly tannic note there. With a little time the oak and red wine influence start to take hold with a toasted oak sensation building and clove spice.
Finish
Despite the sweet red wine used, there’s quite a drying finish to this. Powdered cocoa, red wine, and oak flavours linger – so much so that the oaky/wood notes build and almost taste like there’s woodsmoke.
Verdict
This is delicious stuff. There’s a real meld of flavours here that gently escalate. Those initial light, floral, and sweet fruity flavours are delicious, and the red fruits build before the oak and red wine influences really take hold. The build is gradual though. Sometimes with wine oak cask aged whiskies you can get an initial sweetness that then just gets dominated by oak, but here the sensations just build gently and in a very appealing way. In fact, flavour profile’s progression is very reminiscent of the colour gradient on the glass bottle of the whisky itself.
Speaking of which… I was a bit perplexed by the black brickwork pattern on the tube around the whisky bottle, but then was really drawn in by the reveal when taking the bottle out of its case. The reflective copper writing atop the tapered clear to black shaded glass with the gorgeous hue of the whisky behind it brought a very big smile to my face.
Back to the whisky and it’s a richer and silkier profile than recent releases and shows that they’ve still got tricks up their sleeve yet. With Icons of Wales #13 Bad Wolf released relatively quickly after and now Icons of Wales #14 The Village having just been released, maybe Penderyn are going to start ramping up that output. A 6 month gap between each seems suitable, with that St. David’s day always beckoning something special. Throw in the Serpents Tears release from last year with whisky jus from the Llandudno site, and they are clearly on a mission to explore, craft, and create. This is my favourite Penderyn since the last one. Long may it continue.
M
Dram disclosure: I purchased this bottle directly from the Penderyn distillery in 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.
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