Penderyn Madeira Finish

The standard bottling from the only current Welsh distillery, Penderyn is interestingly only distilled once, through their unique Faraday still. I believe this whisky is around 5-6 years old, aged in ex-bourbon and then finished in Madeira casks.

Nose - Sweet, complex sugars, vanilla pods, icing sugar and banana, airfix glue, solventy, dominated by floral sweetness, rose water, geranium, hint of elderflower, mint humbugs. With water hints of citrus – lemon zest, lemon rind and a very slight hint of almonds in the background. Quite a nice complex nose, despite the solvents.

Taste - Sour and intense citrus arrival at the centre of the tongue, lemon juice and rind, pink grapefruit, sharp alcohol bite, then a short development, pine nuts and more sweetness towards the back of the mouth, with icing sugar, mint, vanilla.

Finish - Fairly short and quite bitter, sour lemon, floral lavender, juniper, wood sap and pine.

It has big flavours, intense and unique, although it is a little bit solventy, even after water tones down the youth and heat. Nevertheless, a very interesting whisky that’s worth a try, and I look forward to older offerings from the distillery.

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