Palate: Crisp and finely rounded, with the sweetness to balance an appetising dryness.

Finish: Notes of tropical fruit, raisins and vanilla persist.

Balance: Oaky vanilla tones/dry sweetness

Nose: Aromas of rich dried fruits with dark chocolate and cranberries; a hint of toasty oak mingles with a baked nutty dryness

Palate: A creamy richness with some honey and spiced notes emerging

Finish: Smooth with a soft oak and honey sweetness lingering gently on the tongue

Balance: Rich wood/chocolate & dry fruits

Palate: Sweetness dominates then moves over to allow some refreshing bitterness to emerge while the mixed fruits continue to dominate the flavour.

Finish: Gradually all the flavours ebb away to leave memories of a lively and light style of whisky that is easy to drink.

Penderyn Icons of Wales #7 – Rhiannon

A brand new Sherrywood Grand Cru finished whisky at 46%. The 7th in our ‘Icons of Wales’ series celebrates Rhiannon, a powerful enchantress and horse goddess from the ancient Welsh folk tales, The Mabinogi, which were written in the 11th century and are some of the earliest writings in Europe. 

In 1975, Fleetwood Mac recorded a song by the same name which topped the US charts at No 11 in 1976 and has since been named by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Songs of all Time. Additionally, Stevie Nicks wrote the Fleetwood Mac song “Angel” based on the Rhiannon story.

The 9th in Penderyn’s Icons of Wales Edition whiskies is called ‘The Headliner’. The only Welsh Prime Minister, David Lloyd George (1863-1945), was a social reformer, created the premium whisky industry, became a symbol of the National reawakening of Wales. and created more headlines than any other 20th Century Statesman. This 700 ml bottle has an abv of 46%, and is matured in Jamacain Rum and Ruby Port casks.

During the first World War, David Lloyd George, MP for Caernarfon Boroughs and Chancellor of the Exchequer, realized that heavy drinking was doing more damage to the population than all the enemy submarines put together. His Immature Spirits Act of 1915 attempted to raise taxation, and created ‘opening hours’, in an attempt to limit the amount of drinking open to workers. Reputable whisky producers were already maturing their whisky in Oak barrels, but some rogue distillers were selling immature spirit straight from the still. Whilst this legislation would have placed financial burdens on distilleries, the ‘3 years and one day’ rule – meaning that whisky had to be in a cask for this period – helped create a premium product. As the reputation of new, mature whiskies gradually spread, the industry revived.

Today whisky exports generate billions for the UK economy. Penderyn Distillery is now in over 50 countries, and we are proud to be part of the premium whisky industry which David Lloyd George accidentally created.

This Single Cask Started its maturation in an ex-Bourbon cask November 11,2013. On March 14, 2017 it was transferred into a 10 yo Cockburns Port cask where it rested sweetly until being bottled on June 6th 2022.

Bottled at 58.8% abv

304 Bottles