Penderyn 13 Year Rich Oak Single Cask #D1062

Nose - dark chocolate, salted caramel, coffee, raisin, polished oak, candied orange, caramelized banana, tobacco, leather, vanilla cream, earthy mint, guava, mango, lemon, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - butterscotch, pineapple, tangerine, dark chocolate, spearmint, leather, mango, black cherry, vanilla, rich oak, ginger, clove, nutmeg, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with dark chocolate, candied fruit, and rich oak flavors. Next up on my Penderyn series is this 13 Year Rich Oak. My first thought is that this is aptly named. It’s dark, rich, and woody. The nose brings its namesake along with some candied fruit, leather, and a tropical quality that reminds of the guava note found on the 10 Year Madeira Finish. The palate has that same richness with some sweet citrus, tropical fruit, and mint. It’s a bit bright, but not unpleasantly so. The finish is middling and the mouthfeel is rather thin, which is unfortunate because it’s a wonderful dram otherwise. Overall this is great whisky. I love those rich, dark, oaky qualities. It’s easily the best of the Penderyn bunch so far. If it were slightly less thin and bright, this would be outstanding. At around $150 a bottle, the value proposition is dubious but not untenable. A big thank you to @pkingmartin for providing the generous sample!

One hell of a flavor explosion loaded with notes of raisins, caramel, dark chocolate, milk chocolate covered cherries, kiwis, pineapples, mangoes, passion fruit, hazlenuts, oranges, apple pie, vanilla, raspberries, and cherry cola. Reminds me of Kavalan Vinho Barrique.

Cola colored. What does the good @pkingmartin have up his sleeve this time? Nose screams high rye whiskey - but is it? Cola, vanilla, thyme, cedar, mint, raisin. Maybe a bit if sea salt and mesquite? Is this sherried? Does that explain the color? The ethanol singe suggests a higher proof but only rye in virgin oak or a sherry cask finish could explain the depth of color. If this was a rye whiskey in virgin oak I would expect more, well, oak. Hot and strong mesquite notes. This has to be Texas. Balcones. That’s my guess. I’ve not had Garrisons outside of Cowboy but this ain’t wheat. There’s an Oloroso nuttiness and slight sulfur note. Lots of cola. I don’t know about this one but would guess a barrel-finished Balcones based on my one experience with a single barrel, barrel proof sample courtesy of @ghill40509. That would also mean this is an American, dare a Texas malt and not a rye whiskey at all. And now the moment of truth…. WTF is Penderyn?? Single malt. Single cask, cask strength. Matured in a series of Buffalo trace and recharged European (French?) oak barrels. I stand by my Balcones comparison and 4-5 TX years seem equivalent to 13 years in Wales. Something about this just doesn’t work for me. It is unique. It is tasty. I think I’m just the odd one out in that this combination of particular malt, barrels and sherry influence… just is r something I can really place. I think most of all it’s the sulfur that turns me off but I believe I’m genetically susceptible to it and still struggle a bit with Joseph Magnus triple cask finish. I like that one more (thanks to the sweeter, corn based distillate). Tally is that 3 out of 4 whisky drinkers will be impressed, the fourth will scratch their head and swear a bit but walk away more well rounded.

In the Indian American culture it’s common to have parents introduce potential women or men for possible marriage. Gone are the days of “arranged marriages”, but in its place it’s now a meet and greet…and date a few times before you decide. There’s pluses and minuses of course. The “blind” dates come well vetted from parent’s family friends and acquaintances. The downside is it’s like Schrödinger’s cat…you don’t know what’s to come unless you actually dive in. Back in the day, my parents introduced me, sight unseen, to a young woman referred to them by a friend’s uncle’s in-law’s mother. Yes. Really. I expected the worse…some crazed pyscho that’ll cut off your nut sack and feed it to stray cats. But…no…when I met her ( we’ll call her S), she turned out to be a real life Perla lingerie model. I struck gold!!! ( needless to say…she didn’t feel the same after a few dates ). Anyway—-moral of the story …you don’t know what to expect when it’s something unknown and going in blind. You might just strike gold. Same goes for this..I’ve had only one other Penderyn before, a 10yr Madeira cask, which was amazing. This is even better. Drinks much older than 13 yr, with strong aromas of oak and sherry. Tastes like black tea , cherries and chocolate, almost like German Black Forest cake. Just amazing…and highly recommended. Thanks to @pkingmartin for the generous pour!

Penderyn seems to be doing some interesting things with their single cask offerings as they keep getting positive reviews. Whisky Advocate just listed their newest 15 year and this 13 year in their spring 2021 buying guide with high ratings for both. I noticed this one at one of my favorite liquor stores prior to those glowing reviews and debated buying it. I had already bought their 10 year old Madeira finish for 100 and wanted to compare the two side by side, but a 60% markup for a Buffalo Trace barrel and 3 extra years seemed hard to justify. I smelled some marketing BS since they had to slap on that ex-BT bourbon in, instead of just saying ex-bourbon barrels and kept myself from buying it for a few weeks, but unfortunately succumbed to my whisky FOMO and ended up buying this bottle. Here’s hoping my whisky FOMO didn’t get the best of me again. The first smell is tannic and almost overpowering with tons of rich oak mixing with sherry fruits. It’s a combination of wood shop and Sulphur that doesn’t bode well for what’s to come. Coming back to it, the tannins calm down and those sherry cask notes are right up front with dark chocolate covered raisins then comes more fruits of blueberries, caramelized bananas, apple chips, leading back to those medium oak tannins and barrel spices with burnt toast, leather and a medium ethanol burn. The taste starts with a syrupy thick and oily mouthfeel with chocolate covered raisins leading to caramel coated black cherries over a vanilla creme brûlée then medium oak tannins, barrel spices of ginger, cloves, black pepper and leather with a medium ethanol burn. The finish is long and lingers with sherry up front, chocolate covered raisins, black cherries, vanilla creme brûlée, black pepper and leather. Wow, this one is better than the 10 year Madeira cask I have and drinks much older than a 13 year. I compared it with the Madeira and both are on the sweeter side but this one brings in a sherry and bourbon barrel mix to help lower those sweet flavors while those rich oak flavors help balance each other out. Those oak tannins are almost overpowering like an overstepped black tea on the taste, but manage to fade away in the finish leaving me with a taste resembling Black Forest cake. Another great one from Penderyn and looking forward to their next single cask release, which I probably won’t wait longer than a few minutes from buying next time.

1 of the 2 2021 single cask release for the US importer ImpEx Beverages. Aged 11 years in Buffalo trace bourbon barrel, finished in STR (no question a Sherry) cask. Bottled at cask strength of course. Neat without adding water. Nose: no doubt it’s finished in sherry cask, the influence is apparent. Behind the sherry note, there’s a beautiful mixture of dark chocolate, soda cream, caramelized brown sugar and the vanilla. Palate: sweet and fruity initially, then came the heat of alcohol and spiciness of the oak. Juicy and chewy Finish: dried raisin, the heat tingles at the back of tongue, quite tannic from the oak, medium length. Adding several drops of water. Sweeter nose with less pungent smell of alcohol. Tropical fruits came out to play. Less heat but nuttier palate, much drinkable. A well crafted single malt. I would’ve guessed a highland sherry bomb if I tasted it blind but it’s a Walsh single cask! Well done from such a young distillery.