We took part in a great Tweet tasting organised by The Whisky Wire and Penderyn Whisky. There were 5 samples in all, including Madeira, Peated, Portwood, Sheerywood and Rich Oak. Below are the tasting notes straight from Twitter.
Madeira cask – “This whisky is the original Penderyn ‘house style’, aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in ex-Madeira wine casks to bring out its full gold character. It is bottled at 46% abv.” – Penderyn Distillery
Appearance: Quite light, almost white wine. Good amount of medium legs
Nose: Nice and sweet, quite floral too. There’s that lovely confectionary sugar note, mixed with white wine grape, green apple skins and vanilla. Starting to get Fruit Salad sweets and bazooka bubblegum now.
Palate: Not as viscous as the swirling would suggest. Spices hit first down the side of the tongue and creating a warmth in the chest. This is followed by the sugary notes and the perfume from the nose. It’s a little numbing and dry.
Finish: gets a bit more tropical, with hints of watermelon, still predominantly spice though. There’s some sugar and butteriness in the mix too
Overall: Not one for me but completely see why people like it. Nose outshone the palate for me
Rich Oak – “This is the latest addition to our Gold Range. Limited Edition Rich Oak Single Cask and 50% bottlings have won major international awards, and so we are delighted to make Rich Oak a permanent fixture in our range. It is matured in a range of specially selected ex-bourbon and rejuvenated oak casks. This whisky has a Kosher certificate.” – Penderyn Distillery
Appearance: Darker than the Madeira cask. Light honey/gold. Thick viscous legs slowly appear, coats the glass well
Nose: Nice and rich, dark fruits, icing sugar and, well, an oakiness. There’s a lot more going on in the nose of this, compared with the Madeira cask, for me. Very good start. As the glass matures I’m getting fresh berries, possibly strawberries. There’s also a tinge of da’funk! Mild cheddar shows up as the glass further matures.
Palate: Fresh coconut milk, chocolate and wood notes. There are some light spices and honey too. Nice buttery feel and flavour, followed by spice and dryness.
Finish: is quite light and sweet, with a small element of spiciness and black pepper. The butteriness lingers too, which is nice.
Sherrywood 46% ABV – “The Penderyn Sherrywood in this bottle has been aged in ex-bourbon barrels and ex-Oloroso sherry casks to bring out its rich fruity flavour.” – Penderyn Distillery
Appeareance: Another light whisky, a shade mroe yellow than white wine. Legs quick to form
Nose: Herbal and zesty, not what I was expecting to be honest. It’s lighter than expected, more fresh. There’s a sugary quality too. Just before I went onto the palate I got victoria sponge.
Palate: Nice mouthfeel, buttery again with jam and a herbal (maybe straw) quality. There’s mint toffee showing up for me now, quite a nice flavour developing.
Finish: A little spicier than the palate. There are lemon sherberts too. The toffee is still lingering, which is nice #PenderynWhisky
Overall: It’s ‘ok’, not my taste again, however. Others on the tasting like it but some commented on the iron taste, which wasn’t pleasant.
Portwood – “This Portwood-finish whisky is a firm favourite among our customers in France and a real attention grabber. It is bottled at 46% abv.” – Penderyn Distillery
Appearance: Orange, Tizer. Nice thick legs.
Nose: Quite funky straight away. Sugared apples (I was given them as a child, anyone else?). Maybe apple crumble actually. Rose wine and, I think, peaches. I like this nose, my favourite so far.
Palate: Well that’s original’ tastes like Rose wine mixed with a whisky. Nice mouthfeel but quite an unusual taste. Oranges now, and drying, very drying for me.
Finish: for me is still the rose and peaches, dry, with a slight fizz and butteriness
Overall: I found the Rose dominance a bit too distracting. The dryness was also not to my taste. Not what I expected from a port wood?
Peated – “This whisky has a delicate spirit with a medium peaty character and a light golden tone. It is bottled at 46% abv. This whisky has a Kosher certificate.” – Penderyn Distillery
Appearance: Lightest of the bunch, white wine. Lots of thin legs form
Nose: Light sweet smoke, like BBQ meats. Nice subtle nose. This one has a nice balance and quite a lot going on too. It’s one that you could nose for a while and continue to get something different. There’s a citrus influence, similar to the flavour a sliced lemon gives to a drink.
Palate: The peat is much more evident on the palate, a lovely sweet smokiness. There’s a slight dryness. I like the mouthfeel of this, nice and think, buttery too. Nice!
Finish: Nice and buttery with that sweet BBQ smoke. Reminds me of cooking burnt ends last summer! This is my favourite of the 5 expressions. It has a nice balance and just a small amount of dryness.
Overall: Enough going on to keep you entertained and interested for quite some time. The sweet BBQ smoke is the star here, nicely balanced and a very easy sipper.
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