Penderyn Madeira

In the UK for four days now and currently hating the price of Australian whisky. This whisky is the original Penderyn ‘house style’, aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in ex-Madeira wine casks. I have wanted to try Penderyn liquid for a year or more now, but this bottle alone is $121 minimum in Australia. Supermarket here in UK - £26 (AUD$50). Now sitting on the patio at 20:30 and the suns still just about up, making this bottle shine a beautiful golden colour and living up to the moniker of Welsh Gold. I am quite excited by this pour… N: Oily, creamy and rich. Laden with sultanas, vanilla-toffee, banana and coconut, and ever so slightly herbal-grassy presence. P: Silky and full bodied. Sweetness of green apples and vanilla shortbread biscuit are well balanced with a creamy and delectable oak presence that lifts to an almost orange perfume F: Long. Crisp and pleasantly dry. Tropical elements return from the nose, coconut and maybe something approaching mango. Shortbread and some plump raisin combine with a late ginger spice. This is wonderful. Whilst you can tell this is a little young there is a wonderful fresh vibrancy to everything and just enough oak to add character and wonderful texture. Lovely complexity and balanced development. Yummy stuff, and at £26 an absolute steal. Distiller whisky taste #208

On the nose there is toffee, vanilla and lemons. Foam shrimp candy/sweets from the 80s :) It’s a deightful nose, and the arrival equally impresses. There’s a sensational creaminess, like melted warm vanilla ice-cream. Blackcurrents then take centre stage. More citrus fruits appear in the development and mingle with stewed prunes in the medium-long finish. The Madeira cask finish compliments the fruity Penderyn signature really well. This is now my favourite expression from Penderyn. It’s such a tasty and great value whisky - I’d love to see them offer more age statement expressions.

Cereal, shortbread, heavy vanilla that turns into cinnamon, caramel, slight tints of red fruits. Really solid whisky.

A nice single malt Welsh whisky, definitely comes out as young and edgy at times but, at the same, it is very friendly and enjoyable, sweet and fruity, not to be compared with your favorite Scotch.