Penderyn Rich Oak
Gold Series Welsh Single Malt | 46% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average. In a good way.
TL;DR
A decent example of an STR cask whisky with added quirks
Welsh whisky… a lost art no more?
Dipping my hobbit-like toes into the whisky world, I was often told there’s nothing quite as magical as the first steps on the hallowed ground of a distillery.
It only took a mere two years of becoming doused in the whisky lifestyle to take that first step, but to my own surprise it wasn’t a Scottish distillery, but a Welsh one: Penderyn Brecon Beacons Distillery to be precise. Not to get mixed up with the Penderyn Llandudno Lloyd St Distillery or the Penderyn Swansea branch which aims to be open by the end of 2022. Welsh whisky certainly seems to be far from lost. In the beautiful and surprisingly easy to find surroundings, I couldn’t think of a better location for my first distillery experience.
OK that’s a bit of a lie. I’m sorry. I don’t want to start this review on a fib. Technically my first whisky distillery visit was Dartmoor Whisky Distillery in Devon. However that experience was closer to a seated tasting with a short video introduction about the silent copper still behind the screen. While still special, it was far from the butterfly-inducing, Willy Wonka experience of walking through an active distillery.
The Penderyn tour tickets were a generous gift back in the carefree days of 2019, near the beginning of my whisky deep-dive. Due to many factors, it wasn’t until halfway through 2021 that I managed to open that distillery door and cash in this experience, by which point I had blossomed into a real lockdown enthusiast of the golden liquid.
Within minutes of pulling up outside the distillery, I was looking around the back of the building to see what secrets I could find while being almost stunned by the largest collection of barrels that has blessed my eyes. It might be overwhelming when I get to Scotland.
I’m sure many of you will have seen a distillery or two in your time and I would like you to take a moment to remember the sheer joy of seeing your hobby and passion being manifested in front of your eyes for the first time. If you haven’t visited one yet, I really do recommend it, no matter the distillery. Due to the rush of adrenaline or more likely my lack of brain cells, it was a struggle to digest the story around Penderyn’s unique Faraday still as I stood there, jaw open and eyes wide. Luckily the official website explains everything in detail.
Every fact and nugget of information whizzed by my awe-stricken trance and with my wife beside me, only two weeks shy of her due date, it came close to a sensory overload at times. There is nothing as thrilling as thinking your first-born child will be lured out by the sound and smells of whisky being birthed. The tour was topped off with a choice: pick any two whiskies from their range to try, or take a miniature home. My only experience with Penderyn before this was trying the Madeira finish which honestly put me off exploring anything further from this distillery. Overly dry green grapes and surgical spirit, but that’s for another review.
I selected the portwood finish and the Royal Welsh Whisky which were highly enjoyable and both made their way on to my price watchlist later that evening. As the crowd was herded into the gift shop, we held back and let others go through first, not knowing there was a limit to the number of people allowed in at one time (remember those 2021 days?). To help us pass the time while the other visitors perused, our wonderful tour guide offered another free taste. With the lucky dip method, I went for the Penderyn Rich Oak. Kindness always pays off. They say you always remember your first second… and with every sip of Penderyn that passes my lips, I relive that experience.
More than a year later, typing away and wishing I could have asked more questions so I could stuff this review full of delicious facts you wouldn’t find anywhere else, I would love to say the thin gold bolt on the bottle comes with a Frankenstein story, where lightning struck the stills creating their first spirit run. Or that the non-shelf-friendly height of the bottle was a scaled representation of Snowdon.
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature”
While the above tales are a marketers dream, they’re far from true. The gold seam is said to be a reflection of the “absolute purity and exquisite quality of Welsh gold,”while the frustratingly tall bottle is based on the shape of their still. Also nearly lost on the wing of the bottle three little icons are etched as a nod to the Welsh heritage; a dragon, feathers and a harp. So while it’s not a horror movie knock-off, there’s certainly the touch of marketing around this distillery. Which brings me (finally) to my main point: Distillery tours are possibly the biggest marketing move you can make in the whisky game. Once they get you through the door, it’s not likely you’re going to be bringing home a branded ruler or a ridiculous big pencil. Chances are you are taking an RRP priced bottle or even a pricier distillery exclusive. Now that is a souvenir. Even if you don’t buy anything, as long as you enjoyed the experience, they have planted good connotations ready for your purchase further down the line. The film Inception on a much less VFX heavy scale.
Now I’m not saying I have firm proof of this, but I have gone from writing off a distillery after one bottle to now being the proud owner of three different bottles of Penderyn. I am even here at 23:21 in the evening, feeling compelled to write about one of them. That one, is the Gold Range bottle - Penderyn Rich Oak. With Penderyn being one of Dr Jim Swan’s projects, it won’t come as a shock to hear this bottle makes the most of being finished in a red wine STR cask.
Review
Penderyn Rich Oak, official bottling, 46% ABV
£45 at the distillery and online
Visually unique, both the bottle shape and label deserves to be admired. However just because it has a “tried my best” sticker, it doesn’t stop the mild frustration of having to find its own home following my shelf height restrictions. Anyway, let's talk about the liquid inside.
Nose
The first sniff threw me into the past, scraping Tesco own-brand Mini Gems off my car following sugar-melting heat waves. The sweetness doesn’t stop there, vanilla ice cream is drowned in tins of fruit cocktail in syrup with a big spoon of treacle on top. While creamy, sweet and enjoyable, these notes are swiftly replaced with a sharp nail polish note taking the nostrils hostage.
Palate
The first sip is full of highly carbonated Vimto soft drink, with so much fruit and fizz it curls the edges of the tongue. After this shock, all the more expected notes come flushing in on a wave of Greek vanilla yoghurt, fresh peaches, ripe melon and an all round solid continental breakfast. The finish is where it becomes peculiar with the clashing mix of fresh limes and cracked black pepper keeping me company for some time.
The Dregs
Reading back my barrage of scribbled and unorganised notes, I can see why Penderyn has been described as dividing. At the start of putting this review together, my memories of this and the previous bottle, I felt it could hit the lofty Dramface heights of a six, maybe even a seven. Now as I take off the rose-tinted distillery glasses for the cold, calculated, blue-light reducing computer specs, it was possibly leaning on the experience more than I thought – just like all these film reboots relying heavily on nostalgia.
This new light is further compounded with the bottle no longer sitting on the Master of Malt website for the ever tempting £38. Therefore, I feel it’s right that I describe this bottle as average, but to me, in a very good way. Hopefully we can take some comfort in this classic tale of redemption. One bottle doesn’t reflect a whole distillery. Even if you need to see it to believe it.
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. GG
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