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).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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!

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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/