Tonight we venture into the heart of Wales, where we travel from one Celtic nation to another and savour the fruits of the Penderyn distillery. I am very fortunate to have in front of me the Port Wood Single Cask Bottling, Cask PT26 60.6% Limited Edition, favoured by the Master distiller Jim Swan. This is non chill-filtered Welsh Malt whisky.
Its colour comes from the port casks, this gives it a real lush red glow, which has a mystical air that draws you into its spell. The port flavours are intense with the hint of Puff Candy (Honeycombe). Although this whisky is 60.6% its presence is smooth and charming, and only lets you know its strength when it hits your very soul!
Adding water to this perfection would be sacrilige, but if you must it apparently releases a warming glow?!
To the nose it has a fresh cut oak wood aroma, extremely pleasant.
I would recommend this to anyone, and would say this puts Wales firmly on the whisky map!!
Is this a collector? Most definitely!! Well presented and one of only 207 bottles....
Scoring
4 out of 4 points for flavour
3 out of 3 points for presentation and style – well delivered packaging
3 out of 3 points on cost... and is it worth it's money? Yes! This is the way whisky should be!!
10/10+
Penderyn Port Wood Edition named ‘European Single Cask Whisky of the Year’
Penderyn, Wales’s only single malt whisky, has received one of the industry’s most prestigious accolades, placing it among the very best whiskies in the world.
Jim Murray, the independent whisky expert and author of the industry’s most respected guide, the ‘Whisky Bible’, selected the new Penderyn Port edition as ‘European Single Cask Whisky of the Year’ and scoring it at a staggering 96.5, one of the highest marks ever awarded in the Whisky Bible’s six year history.
In the 2010 edition of the Whisky Bible, published today, Murray, who is believed to have visited more distilleries than any other living person, reviews more than 3,500 whiskies. He described the malt as "stunning" and went on to comment, "Classic doesn’t quite cover it... I doubt if even Swansea’s much vaunted beautiful football is quite as beautiful as this; this is [...] perfection".
Single cask whiskies are bottled from one unique barrel, ensuring that their unmatched characteristics remain undiluted. Winning the European Single Cask award confirms the singular perfection of the Penderyn Port Edition.