#33.5 The Welsh Whisky Trail (not TM)

Aber Falls and the last few days in Wales

TL; DR: Our final distillery visit in Wales was at Aber Falls. We had somehow high expectations, but to be honest the experience was a bit flat. We finished our holiday in Wales visiting the North-West, including the Eryri National Park (Snowdonia), before driving back towards Scotland.

(missed Part 4/Part 3/Part 2/Part 1?)

The bus ride back from Llanduno to Abergwyngregyn (we had to copy/paste this name…) was uneventful, under a grey Northern Welsh sky. We spent most of it having lunch with warm rolls and bakes we got just before taking the bus, to put something solid in the stomach after the extensive masterclass at Penderyn. Once we got off, we quickly checked the campervan, and left again for a 20-minute walk to Aber Falls distillery, but not before getting a coffee at the nearby Alma’s Cafè. When the bartender understood we were Italian, he got excited and started showing off his Italian vocabulary. It was not the first time this happened, probably not many people there are used to Italian tourists (which is a shame, some parts of Wales are truly beautiful!).

Walking under the rain, oh well.

Anyway, we were looking forward to visiting Aber Falls distillery, as it was the only other Welsh single malt we had tried before, beside Penderyn. We had tried two expressions. First, the inaugural release (thanks to a tasting put together by the always-on-point Justine from Kask Whisky), which was a one-off bottled at 46%, unchillfiltered and natural colour: a delicious dram, which punched above its weight being 3 years of age. Then, the ubiquitous expression that (if you’re reading from the UK) you can find in most supermarkets… this is not a memorable one, geared towards quantity rather than quality.

Aber Falls, nice location!

In spite of the gloomy day, the location looked still very pretty: the distillery is at the end of a road with a parking lot, on a land crossed by a wee stream, surrounded by a rural landscape. The building on the left is the bar/visitor centre, with tables outside for warmer and dryer days. The production building is on the right side instead, along the stream. Past the bridge to cross it, a red copper dragon welcomed us. The visitor centre looked very tidy and clean, with lots of merchandise on the shelf. We looked for potential whisky buys right away, but it seemed that the only expression beside their standard release was a 3yr ex-Sauternes cask finish from the Distiller’s Cut series, bottled at 47% (£75). We were told that they usually have either a Distiller’s Cut or a Distillery Exclusive.

Always a dragon somewhere :).

When the tour started, Carmel collected us, and the first thing was a video in a small room. As usual, the video talked about the distillery history and how they came to be. We then went outside, and across the site, to start the visit to production (again, no pictures allowed). Bar for the gin still (where they rectify neutral grain spirit), the distillery is very similar to a Scottish one. Their stills, made of copper, have a couple of interesting bits however: first, the spirit still has what we think it’s a cooling ring around the neck. This is a feature we found at Fettercairn, although they didn’t look the same. The second feature is a stainless steel condenser in parallel with the copper one. Carmel told us this one is rarely used, mostly for special bottlings and not for their core release. And in fact, one of the most interesting parts of the tour was to compare the newmake spirit from the two condensers, just nosing however. The difference was obvious, with the steel condensed spirit more earthy and oily, the other fruitier and more floral.

Spirits selection for the tasting.

For the end of the tour, we went back to the visitor centre, to try an array of spirits: gin, gin liqueurs and their single malt. We skipped most of the gin liqueurs, as from smelling them we figured out they weren’t for us. The bar was open for another hour, so we went there with the idea of trying some of their Distiller’s Cut and Distillery Exclusive, whose bottles were sold out. However, the price for a dram was £14 (mental!), so we tried one only, Barolo red wine cask (well, we’re still Italians…) Distillery Exclusive, which was ok. Fortunately, we managed to find Carmel again, and she kindly gave us a sip of the current Distiller’s Cut, from ex-Sauternes casks, but this one failed again to impress.

Overall, it was an ok tour, and we reckon this distillery has lot of potential. Probably they could do more to create interesting expressions and engage the whisky enthusiasts, because as it is, it looks like another tourist-driven experience with a supermarket style production. These are not bad things per se, of course, but it would be nice if they targeted whisky enthusiasts too.

After the tour, we slowly walked back to the campervan, under a rainy sky. The decision to spend the night there was not the best one. Being so close to the expressway, we barely slept.

Another castle yet – Caernarfon.

We spent the following days visiting the north of Wales, first the isle of Anglesey and Caernarfon Castle (very nice, but without a guide the experience was not as enjoyable as Pembroke), then the Lynn peninsula. One of the highlights was Nant Gwrtheyrn, a former miners’ village once abandoned, now restored thanks to the start of a Welsh language school: a place to go back to. We even spent a few hours on a nice beach, although we didn’t swim…We just enjoyed a pint under the sun.

Mining past in a beautiful scenery, Nant Gwrtheyrn.

The following two days were supposed to be the hiking ones, but the weather discouraged us to climbing mount Snowdon, in the famous Eryri/Snowdonia National Park. The first day, we decided to walk anyway, near Llanberis, on a trail climbing up to an old quarry…and in the two hours we ended up completely soaked. The following morning the climate wasn’t promising either, so we slowly started driving east. We stopped for an afternoon tea right before the crossing to England, to visit the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, another record of the once dynamic industrial life in the area.

Not the best weather for hiking…

So that was it, our first road trip to Wales! The country is very beautiful, although in some parts quite busy (in particular Gower and Pembrokshire), and with such narrow roads, driving was trickier than prevented. The North is quite spectacular, in particular around the Eyri National Park mountains.

Our likely reaction if we were able to see mount Snowdon behind us.

Whisky-wise it was a very interesting trip. Now that Welsh Single Malt is officially recognised as a whisky category, there is lot of space for further growth. Penderyn, of course, is leading the charge with its three distilleries. Thanks to their different types of stills, Faraday and traditional pot stills, they can really experiment and come up with a variety of flavours in their whisky. Aber Falls production, on the other hand, is more similar to a Scottish one. The craft scene is very interesting as well, with Coles, In the Welsh Wind and Dà Mhìle distilleries all giving a different take on the category. The use of a combination of pot and column distillation can be very interesting, although we think it can be tricky as well: some expressions had a very “gin-ish” flavour which we were not too keen on. In this crafty category there are a couple of distilleries we might have missed, Cardiff Distillery (it looks like they are doing gin and vodka, but someone told us they might make whisky too) and Anglesey Mon (for which we couldn’t find any information online). Overall, it’s a very interesting scene, and this trip definitely satisfied our curiosity…At least for now, eheh.

Until next time, Slainte!

Aber Falls Distillery Tour

Price: £12.50 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 1hr

Tasting: a neep of the available spirits, including Aber Falls Single Malt (40%), and various gins and gin liqueurs

Target: tourists

Value for money: good

Highlights: comparing the newmake spirits made using different condensers

Recommended: not for whisky geeks, unless you really want to

Link: https://www.aberfallsdistillery.com/

#33.4 The Welsh Whisky Trail (not TM)

Nosing whisky in the north of Wales: Penderyn Llanduno

TL; DR: After the lovely Aberystwyth, a long drive north in the rain and the mist through industrial relics and castles to get to Llanduno, where we visited the third (and last) Penderyn distillery and enjoyed an interesting, full-on whisky masterclass.

(missed Part 3/Part 2/Part 1?)

We woke up in a misty Aberystwyth. Unfortunately, weather forecasts were right: a day of rain. Thus, a change of plan was needed: we were supposed to take the Cliff Railway to admire the Afon Rheidol valley, of which we’d had some glimpse the day before, but with fog and rain what was the point? Instead, we had breakfast and afterwards we visited the National Library of Wales, which had very interesting exhibitions (and a cosy cafeteria).

City encounters while walking up to the National Library of Wales.

We soon left the nice wee town driving north, towards the camping for the night, in Blaenau Ffestiniog. We tried to drive “the long way”, so first we stopped at the Dyfi Furnace, a well-preserved industrial relic. We kept driving north, to Machynlleth and past the Dyfi Bridge, until Llanelltyd. Here, we took a detour to drive on the coast, and we stopped at Harlech Castle, in a very picturesque little village. This was our last stop before the camping (named Quarry View… and indeed it is surrounded by quarries), where we arrived still under the rain: a shame, as the camping looked it could have been very enjoyable with nice weather.

Dyfi Furnace…

…and the Harlech Castle.

The morning after it was not raining but still misty. We had a quick breakfast and then we were on the road, as we needed to get to Abergwyngregyn in time for the bus to Llanduno. The road across Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park was quite spectacular even in the mist, and we passed many groups of hikers getting ready to climb the sharp mountains. That day we had two distilleries booked, Penderyn Llanduno and Aber Falls. We parked the van walking distance to the latter, but with a convenient bus we could reach Llanduno so we could both fully enjoy the Masterclass at Penderyn. The trip on the North Wales Expressway was quiet and smooth.

A distillery in the town centre: Penderyn Llanduno.

As we got off the bus, we got a hint on why the distillery is located in this town: it’s a very touristy place, dating back to Victorian times. We had just enough time to get a coffee and walk to the distillery, which contrary to many others, is located in the town centre. The building, in fact, is one of a former school. There, we were welcomed by Angharad, which collected us and other two people to start the Masterclass. She walked us into a big room and played a video about the history of Welsh whisky and Penderyn. She also served us coffee and a Welsh cake, a nice and appreciated touch. This was accompanied by a first dram, a Penderyn Myth, from the reduced strength range (41%), initially developed for the French market and finished in shaved-toasted-recharred (STR) casks.

After the introductory video and history, we did a nosing challenge: 10 fragrancies to recognise. Teresa was the best in the class, with 8/10, while “slow noser” Gianluigi had to be asked to finish twice, and only got 4…Ouch! In spite of her modesty, that confirmed what we knew already, that she has a great nose! For the next dram, we were asked to guess among Johnnie Walker Black Label, Monkey Shoulder, Haig Club single grain, and the Penderyn Madeira. Clearly it wasn’t the latter two, and it took a moment but we recognised the JW Black Label (due to the presence of a whiff of smoke).

Getting ready for the nosing challenge.

Now it was the time for the tour of production (where we couldn’t take pictures): it is very similar to what we’d seen in Brecon Beacons and Swansea, but on a smaller scale. They have only one Faraday still (and no copper pot stills), with which they produce only peated spirit. Of course, being in a town centre, they don’t have a warehouse on site, and the tour finished in a hallway with the types of casks they use on display for us to nose, like we did in the other two sites. This was accompanied by a dram of Buffalo Trace bourbon (their standard at 40%), because they mainly fill ex-bourbon barrels from this distillery, and a wee glass of Madeira wine, the finishing cask for their main expression.

Faraday still explainer.

After this, we followed Angharad first in an exhibition room, then in the bar, where we could choose a dram: for us, it had to be the Icons of Wales #7 Rhiannon (finished in ex-sherry casks, 46%) and the Penderyn club exclusive (an ex-Madeira cask exclusive, whose purchase for £95 allows to be in the Club for 3 years, with some benefits like discounts, etc.). We headed back to the “boardroom”, for yet another test: we had four Penderyn from the Gold range (Madeira, Peated, Sherrywood, Portwood and Rich Pak/STR) and we had to recognise which one was which (one missing). We both did the same: got the Sherrywood and Peated right, correctly guessed the Portwood was the missing one, but mixed up the Rich Oak and Madeira. Nosing is a tricky thing! Finally, we headed down to the shop, where we collected some memorabilia included in the tour.

A beautiful bar!

The second guessing game of the day…All Penderyn, but which one?

The masterclass was supposed to be 2-2.5 hours, but it ran for over 3.5! So, as we walked out, we raced to the bus stop and barely had time to get a couple of hot rolls and beefy bakes to eat on the bus. Overall, we liked the experience, even if it was more challenging than expected. We were hoping for some drams from the cask, like some sort of warehouse tasting. It wasn’t the case, but the offer was very generous nonetheless, and we could appreciate the variety of the Penderyn offer. After visiting all three distilleries, we are left wondering how different the whisky from the three sites will be, in particular the peated one. In our understanding, the way they’ve made peated whisky before opening the site in Llanduno is by using ex-Laphroaig casks). Anyway, definitely a trio of distilleries to keep an eye on and revisit at some point. Slainte!

Penderyn Llanduno Masterclass

Price: £60.00 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 2hr 30min

Tasting: 8 drams (Penderyn Myh, JW Black Label, Buffalo Trace, one from the bar, 4 from the Gold Range) and a sip of Madeira wine

Target: whisky novices and nerds

Value for money: good

Highlights: the sensory experience

Distillery exclusive: mostly the same as Swansea and Brecon Beacon distilleries

Recommended: for craft distilling enthusiasts in particular

Link: https://www.penderyn.wales/

#33.3 The Welsh Whisky Trail (not TM)

Craft Distillers in the South West: In The Welsh Wind and Dà Mhìle

TL;DR: A relaxed but at the same time full-on day in the south west of Wales. We visited two craft distilleries, In The Welsh Wind and Dà Mhìle. We discovered the existence of iStills in the first one, and got to know more about organic whisky in the second one…Both very interesting projects, so much information to take in!

(missed Part 2/Part 1?)

The night at the Lleithyr Farm camping near St. Davids was quiet, and we woke up definitely very rested, with a couple of black pigs snuffling on the other side of the fence and rabbits sprinting around. At that point of the trip we had perfected our morning routine: breakfast, shower, washing dishes, and packing up. So much that soon after we were able to leave the camping towards north, along the Welsh west coastline.

Our next stop was a new distillery: In the Welsh Wind! We were a bit ahead of schedule on the road, but we lost all of our advantage because of tractors and other heavy vehicles on a very narrow highway (also, Mr Vantastic isn’t really good at overtaking…). The distillery is on the A487 near Tan-y-gros, very easy to spot, about five miles past Cardigan towards north, towards Aberystwyth. The building used to be a pub, now it’s all painted black with their logo on the side.

No way we could miss this…

Also, their neighbour is an old small car…collector? Dealer? Deposit? Who knows! The cars are mostly eviscerated (no engine) but painted with bright colours: very peculiar.

…Or this.

As we walked in the distillery, we realised that the staff were busy in a meeting, so James (the distillery manager) came to us asking to wait a couple of minutes. He came back very soon, apologising: they were having this meeting to deal with a new big customer of theirs, Tesco!

We had chosen the “Tour only” option, as we were not very interested in the gin tasting coming with the regular tour. James told us the story of the distillery: it was founded by a couple, Ellen and Alex, after a sabbatical period when they walked over 1,000 miles on the Welsh coast and the historic border. They started the distillery in 2018, making gin first, but since 2021, they lay casks down for whisky. So no whisky yet, but they aim for a first release in 2025. Besides whisky, and other than gin (under two different brands, more of that later), they make vodka and rum (mostly spiced, they had some limited wood-matured release which promptly disappeared), as well as…malt vinegar! That was a “pandemic project”, to make use of local brewery’s beer that otherwise would have been wasted. This featured in some TV-shows, and the popularity that followed apparently helped put them “on the map”.

Warehouse / malting floor at In The Welsh Wind.

The production area is quite small, and a big part of the surface is dedicated to their own malting floor. A very important aspect is that, for the whisky, they source the barley locally, all from a 10-mile radius, and they malt it themselves (without peat). When we visited it was July, which, because of the heat, is their “off-season”, when they don’t malt and don’t make any whisky. Another interesting and distinctive thing is that they have two iStills (the first time we saw them!). This “all-in-one” still is made by a Dutch maker, and saves on space and personnel: in our understanding, they charge it with milled barley, water and yeast, and it does the whole process, in a very efficient way. They have two iStills, one for big batches and a smaller one for experimental runs.

The iStill. Never seen anything like this!

They use these for whisky (aiming to ~80%abv in the newmake), vodka (higher abv, ~90%) and rum. The whisky is filled in the usual casks (many ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, ex-wine) diluted with local water to ~62%abv. On top of that, they also fill a lot of 30-litre casks to sell to privates (for £2,000). Some casks were stored there, although James told us they had just bought a warehouse to store most of their products.

On the other side of the building, near the bar, there are the two gin stills (200 and 50 litre), and also six mini-stills. These are part of the “distill-your-own” business, where people can come and choose among the many available botanicals to make their own recipe and redistill a pre-prepared 50% neutral grain spirit. Very clever! They also sell their products to the local trade, in particular a brand called Eccentric Spirit, which they bought and resurrected (this is the one that will go to Tesco). The tour ended at the shop (which in the meantime became quite busy), with a nip of their In the Welsh Wind gins (a dry one and a Palo Cortado cask matured one), and of the whisky they source from Mackmyra distillery, in Sweden (curious choice).

Wanna distill your own gin?

Left the distillery, we had enough time to do groceries and refuel before driving to the next one: Dà Mhìle. This wee distillery is on the Glynhynod farm (in Welsh, “remarkable valley”), in a stunning and hidden place (it reminded Gianluigi the village where his mother grew up, Casali di Morfasso) off the A486. Although a very different business compared to the In The Welsh Wind, the ignition was somehow coming from the same place: the need for a life change. In 1981, John, Patrice and Paula moved to Wales from the Netherlands and purchased the farm, where they started organic farming and in particular organic cheese-making (named Caws Teifi). About a decade later, John went to an organic food festival and spotted a gap in the market: organic whisky. So, they farmed barley on their fields, and looked for someone to produce their organic whisky. After many “no thanks”, someone accepted their offer: Springbank! They sent their barley to Campbeltown, where it was turned into newmake spirit by the popular distillers in 1992, and was firstly released in 2000. Although that was the only ever batch of barley produced at the farm (apparently it is not an ideal location for growing barley), they commissioned another batch of organic whisky, this time at Loch Lomond. In 2012, however, after the legalisation of craft stills, Dà Mhìle purchased their own and started producing their own spirits: whisky, rum, gin, brandy, vodka and liqueurs.

A tasting room or a mountain cottage?

This story was told us while sitting in the lovely tasting room, resembling a mountain cottage, and equipped with a bar and shelves full of their products. The lower level of the same building is the “distillery”, which consists in a 350-litre German still, with a wood-fired steam boiler. The wash is bought from a local brewery (we couldn’t understand which one), which comes already fermented and ready to be distilled. After this explanation we started the tasting, with the whiskies first. The first dram was the 2023 release of their organic single malt Welsh whisky, vatting of two sherry casks (bottled at 46%abv). The second was an organic single grain Welsh whisky, released in 2022, and finished in ex-Laphroaig quarter casks, a bit smoky and tasty (46%abv). The final dram was a delicious 20 years old organic single grain Scotch whisky (again, 46%abv), from the batch they had commissioned to Loch Lomond in 2000.

A lovely tasting.

After the whisky tasting, we had another one: the cheese tasting! One seasoned with nettle, one with cumin, a mature cheddar and the “Celtic promise”: all tasty, the latter two were delicious! Then, it was time for lunch, a Welsh rarebit, something we had never tried before.

As a final part of the tour, we went outside to check out the warehouse: a small building with concrete floor, where a few dozen casks were resting. The space is quite wide, looks like it was sized for the medium-long term, since they only fill about 22 casks per year. Finally, we visited the shop, where they sell a range of organic products: other than cheesy and boozy goodies, also meat, eggs and produce.

We left the distillery very happy, driving towards Aberystwyth, where we would have spent the night. Before driving into town, we did a detour to visit the Devil’s Bridge, which we remembered from the Hinterland TV show (which we loved).

Can you see the devil?

Once in Aberystwyth, we parked Mr. Vantastic and had a stroll in the centre. We found it very nice, and although quite small, the place gave us “towny” vibes. After dinner (well, some sandwiches we’d made earlier), we celebrated a day of exciting discoveries about the art of craft distilling in a lovely pub, with craft beers and live acoustic music. Slainte!

In The Welsh Wind Tour only

Price: £8.00 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 45min

Tasting: nip of available products

Target: everyone, but still mostly gin lovers

Value for money: good

Highlights: the iStill

Recommended: yes for craft-distilling enthusiasts

Link: https://inthewelshwind.co.uk/

Dà Mhìle Whisky tasting (talk, tasting and lunch)

Price: £35.00 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 1hr 30min

Tasting: 3-dram from the available range, for us it included 2023 Organic Single Malt (two ex-sherry casks vatting, 46%, natural presentation); 2022 Organic Single Grain (finished in an ex-Laphroaig quarter cask, 46%, natural presentation); 20y Loch Lomond Organic Single Grain (46%, natural presentation), and

Target: everyone, foodies in particular

Value for money: good

Highlights: the bucolic location

Recommended: yes for craft-distilling enthusiasts

Link: https://www.damhile.co.uk/

#33.2 The Welsh Whisky Trail (not TM)

From Cardiff to Pembroke: Penderyn Swansea and Coles

TL;DR: After visiting Cardiff, we spent the next couple of days again on the road in South Wales for a mix of whisky and non-whisky activities: Penderyn Swansea distillery, Gower peninsula and Rhossili, followed by Coles distillery and Pembroke Castle.

(missed Part 1?)

That morning in Cardiff the sky was a bit moody, but this didn’t stop us going for a morning run (to Teresa’s disappointment). Near the camping there is a huge park, the Bute Park River Side, which continues along the river Taff, with plenty of pedestrian and cycling paths. We took advantage of it – always nicer to run in green areas. We spent the rest of the day in Cardiff, visiting the castle first, buying rugby-related gifts for Gianluigi’s brothers and father, and looking out for some local beers to try: we found a pub we quite liked right in front of the stadium, but we found out soon it wasn’t Welsh: Tiny Rebels, from Bristol (delicious beers!). We liked Cardiff as a city, small but cosy, and seemed very liveable. Definitely a place to go back to!

Inside Cardiff Castle.

The following day we left early in the morning, directed to Swansea. No matter how we liked Cardiff, we have to say that the landscape along the road between the two cities was not nice at all, very industrial and a bit decadent. Even Swansea didn’t look that good to be honest, not to their fault: it was quite flattened by the Germans during WWII. We soon managed to find the distillery (although Google Maps pointed us somewhere else): the newest of the Penderyn.

A beautiful building – Penderyn Swansea

We did the regular tour here as well (pricier, see summary below), as it was the only experience available in July. In fact, the distillery was so new that they hadn’t even started distilling yet (all the equipment was there however). Being built inside a former copperworks, in the first part of the tour they showed us some videos and the reproduction of a little copper mine, showcasing the importance of this material for electricity (and distilling). Very interesting indeed!

About the importance of copper.

We then visited the soon-to-be active production (again, no pictures allowed), and we realised it is a replica of their Brecon Beacons site. We couldn’t quite get why they made two almost identical distilleries, but our guesses are for tourism (see later) and because it was not possible to increase the size of the original production site. They have a warehouse, however, which we got to after walking on the remains of the copperworks building (covered by glass, hence why we could walk on them). Finally, in the very beautiful tasting bar, we could try two of their expressions each. We picked another two drams from the Icons of Wales series, the #6 Royal Welsh Whisky (43%, peated Portwood finish, to commemorate the original Welsh Whisky distillery at Frongoch) and the #10 YMA O HYD (43%, matured in ex-Rye casks), plus a couple from the core range, the peated ex-Islay cask and the Rich Oak. Despite the fairly basic tour, overall we enjoyed the experience, especially thanks to the very friendly staff.

Teresa is ready for the tasting.

While Swansea didn’t look very beautiful itself, just past it we found a very touristy seaside location, Mumbles, where we stopped for a coffee and a bite. Further ahead, the Gower peninsula. In spite of the narrow and busy roads, we really loved it, in particular Rhossili. We spent the afternoon there, walking to the Ynys Weryn and the Worm’s head before the tide would make it an island again.

Rhossili, probably our favourite spot in this part of Wales.

For the night we didn’t park much far away, just past Crofty, so we had time for a walk. The spot is popular for dramatic sunsets on the river Loughor estuary.

Enjoying the sunset – a bit chilly, but worth it.

In the morning we drove towards Llanelli, but only after checking out a nice café inside a gym (!!) to get a coffee and a morning roll. One of the peculiarities of this holiday was that the offer of morning rolls in Wales seemed to be less rich than in Scotland (lacking black pudding and haggis, for example), so we always ended up with bacon…bacon and sausage in this case (delicious!). Anyway, we soon got to the next stop, Coles Distillery, at the historical White Hart Inn pub, in Llandarrog, which dates back to 1371.

As we parked behind the inn, our guide for the day, Tom, approached us. He is a young and enthusiastic fella, who works in both the brewery and the distillery. The Coles family (who took over the pub in 1994) started brewing their own beer in 1999, cider in 2011 and since the craft stills legalisation, they have been making whisky, vodka, gin, brandy and the first ever welsh rum (as you can imagine, all in small batches). Except for the rum, for which they import molasses, they are a proper grain-to-glass distillery (or fruit-to-glass), as even the gin and the vodka are made from scratch using wheat.

Understanding the theory…

The first part of the tour took place in a hallway, in the pub building, where there is a panel displaying how their distilling operation works, including the botanicals for the gin. They take the water from a well about 90 meters deep, and mashing and fermentation take place in stainless steel tanks (the latter are 6, and fermentation lasts 70 hours). The actual distillation is the interesting part: they have one stainless-steel pot still which takes 3000l wash, and of which only a joint before the lyne arm is made of copper. Then, they have two column stills, each one with 20 copper plates. This setup, all using a steam boiler, gives them lot of flexibility, thanks to which they are able to make different products.

…Still understanding the theory.

After this very thorough explanation, we moved inside the distillery, just a few steps away from the pub. Because of the craft size of the operation, everything is under one shed, including some maturing casks of whisky and rum. There we could revisit all the steps of their process under Tom’s careful guide, which explained that they mostly use American oak ex-bourbon barrels, in particular for their main whisky.

Back to the pub, we sit at the bar to try a few of their spirits. Sips were very tiny, but they also sell almost everything they produce in 5cl miniatures, so we took a few with us for a more in depth tasting in the evening.

For once, not a distillery behind us.

Back on the road, we started driving towards Pembrokeshire, to visit the Pembroke Castle, probably our favourite of the holiday. We were able to catch a guided tour, and what an amazing tour that was! The history of the castle is very fascinating too, definitely a must-do if you’re ever in the area. Our camping for the night was still in Pembrokeshire, near St David.

Sunset tasting.

It was on a farm, and because the weather was nice, after dinner (we went “true Italian” and made pasta) we could relax and watch the sunset while sipping the Coles distillery’s miniatures: Welsh single malt (5y, 42%, ex-borubon), Organic single malt (42%), dark rum (oak aged, 40%) and the Plum brandy (40%). The latter was the winner for us, delicious!

See you next week, slainte!

Penderyn Swansea Copperworks Tour

Price: £19.50 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 1hr

Tasting: 2 drams of choice

Target: everyone

Value for money: less good than Penderyn Brecon Beacons

Highlights: the copperworks history of Swansea

Distillery Exclusive: same as Penderyn Brecon Beacons (except the Fino cask)

Recommended: if you are curious about the copperwork history and/or if you haven’t visited the Brecon Beacons site

Link: https://www.penderyn.wales/tours-swansea-copperworks/

Coles Distillery Tour

Price: £12.50 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 1hr

Tasting: a nip of anything they produce

Target: everyone

Value for money: good

Highlights: the range of spirits

Recommended: for craft-distilling enthusiasts in particular

Link: https://www.coles.wales/

#33.1 The Welsh Whisky Trail (not TM)

Distilling in the park: Penderyn Brecon Beacons

TL; DR: Our first time in Wales, we started the trip with a nice, easy hike through waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Right after, we rewarded ourselves for the effort with a visit to the original Penderyn distillery, the first opened among their current three production sites.

A sunny Monday morning, in a parking spot near a country road. This is how we woke up on our first day in Wales. The night before, after our stop in the Cotswolds, we had entered Wales from the east side, driving straight towards one of the main national parks, Bannau Brycheiniog (or Brecon Beacons). We were very excited! For Gianluigi it was the first time, in spite of his long-standing interest in rugby, a sport that in Wales was more popular than football until very recently (might still be?). For Teresa it was technically the second time, the first being a work trip to Newport, but it was so short that basically this one was the first time for her too.

In recent years, Wales was not spared by the whisky frenzy happening throughout the world, and distilleries started popping up there too. As we’ll find out later in the trip, distilling had already happened much earlier, but unlike Scotland or Ireland, it didn’t pick up. The trailblazers of the current Welsh whisky scene are definitely Penderyn, which started in the year 2000 and now have three production sites in different areas of the country. Because of the liberalization of craft distillation in the mid-2010s, more distilleries opened since, mostly on a very small scale. We were very excited to know better this scene, but let’s go in order.

Sgwd Yr Eira, beautiful waterfall.

The first activity we did was not visiting a distillery (shocking, isn’t it?), rather the Four Waterfalls Walk in the Brecon Beacons. Before that, we stopped by a cafè in Brecon for some warm breakfast, and we soon left to drive in the spectacular park (characterised by a very “Scottish” landscape), until the Cwm Porth parking lot (the first of many pricey car parks…hard to disagree with them though). The trail was not very difficult, mostly flat (except for a detour to reach the first waterfalls), in a very beautiful wood. The waterfalls were impressive, in particular Sgwd Yr Eira, and in total we hiked for about 12k. Gianluigi’s comment: “we should have done this running” was not very well received by Teresa. Back in the car, we drove on a very panoramic road, where the Devil’s Elbow is, before going towards the first distillery: Penderyn Brecon Beacons indeed! We found out at the distillery that they don’t have a cafè, only a tasting bar, and there is none at walking distance. But here is where the campervan comes handy: we prepared our own coffee inside! Cracking!

First distillery visit in Wales, yay!

Here, we did the regular tour because the masterclass is only available at weekends. The distillery is quite compact, all painted black externally, so quite easy to spot. Because of the relatively small size of the site, casks are stored elsewhere, 20 minutes down the road.

A wee visitor centre and distillery at Penderyn Brecon Beacons.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t make any photo inside production, but we have to say that the initial stages are similar to other distilleries: milling, three-water mashing, and a 72-hour fermentation. As many of you might know already, their main feature is to use a Faraday still, quite unique in whisky production. This is a hybrid between a pot and a column still, commissioned to the descendent of the famous Faraday himself! The distillation is in batches but only one is needed: with the copper plates in the stills (one plate is equivalent to one distillation), the resulting spirit is about 90%abv!

Faraday still. Well, picture of a picture of it.

Because of this peculiarity, the distillery caught the eye of the late Dr. Jim Swan, a consultant who was pivotal in driving the resurgence of whisky in several countries during the 2000s and 2010s (he also worked for other distilleries such as Kilchoman, Lindores Abbey, Annandale, Kavalan, Cotswolds). He helped Penderyn develop their style of whisky, rich and sweet. After lot of trials, they selected as flagship an expression matured in ex-bourbon casks (mostly from Buffalo Trace), then finished in ex-Madeira wine casks. This is a solid whisky, which fortunately is quite widespread (you can find it regularly at Tesco, Sainsbury and other supermarkets). They have similar expressions, but finished in ex-Laphroaig quarter casks, STR (shaved, toasted, re-charred, called Rich Oak), Sherry wood, and ex-Port wine casks: all non-chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at 46%abv. For three of these they have a lighter version, bottled at 41%abv, and sold mostly in supermarkets, a requested from their French importer. Apparently they were not too keen to bottle at lower abv, until they were told how many bottles the French wanted to buy…It’s a business after all!

Some of the drams available to taste, all new to us!

Other than the Faraday stills (two), they also have a pair of pot stills, a wash and a spirit one, similar to many Scottish distilleries, installed in 2014. They use these mostly for special editions, single casks, and for some expressions in their Icons of Wales range. After the tour, we went to the bar for the tasting, where every one could choose two expressions from any of the available ones. This is a great policy, because it allows the visitor to shape their tasting according to their taste and experience. Of course, we tried (Gianluigi right away, Teresa later in the evening) two from the Icons of Wales series, the #8 Hiraeth (46%, a mix of spirit distilled with the Faraday and with the pot stills and matured in ex-bourbon casks) and the #9 Headliner (46%, matured in ex-Jamaican rum and ex-Port casks), and a small batch bottling from ex-Rye casks, and a Distillery Cask ex-Fino sherry. They were all delicious, and a great example of what this distillery can make! At the shop they also had other single casks/small batches bottlings, as well as their spirit range (cream whisky liqueur, vodka and gin) and some “friend” distilleries’ whiskies, in particular from Brittany distillers Armorik (France).

No pictures allowed in the production area, so more pictures of us.

We left the distillery driving towards Cardiff. The landscape is very particular, with small villages scattered along the hills – we guessed these must have been miners’ settlements. As we arrived at our camping in Cardiff, we realised how close we were to the city centre, barely 20 minutes walking from the Cardiff Castle and the Principality (formerly Millenium) Stadium. That night, however, we didn’t go to the city: we took advantage of our portable grill for a little (well, not so little) barbecue, cooking food for the evening but also for the following ones, because well organised ‘campervanners’ (is this a word?) are happy campervanners. Slainte!

Penderyn Brecon Beacons Tour

Price: £13.50 pp (July 2023)

Duration: 1hr

Tasting: 2 drams of choice

Target: everyone

Value for money: very good

Highlights: the Faraday still

Distillery exclusive: ex-Rye cask Small Batch (2050 bottles, 50%abv, natural colour and non-chill filtered, also available online, £85.00); Distillery Cask ex-Fino Sherry cask #972 (45.3%, natural colour and non-chill filtered, £70.00); Rich Madeira (Penderyn Club Exclusive, 50%, £95); Amontillado Sherry single cask (59.7%, £130)

Recommended: yes

Link: https://www.penderyn.wales/tours-breconbeacons/