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Welsh whisky

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Welsh whisky (Welsh: wisgi Cymreig) is liquor made from malt, grain and water that is produced in Wales.[1] There are currently two types of Welsh whisky Malt Whisky and Grain Whisky[2][3]

Welsh whisky
Example of active whisky distillery in Wales
TypeDistilled beverage
Country of origin Wales
Introduced First introduced / Reintroduced
1800 / 2016
Discontinued1900
Alcohol by volume 40%[4] – 63.2%[5]
ColourCaramel
IngredientsMalt, Water, Grains
VariantsSingle malt, Single cask, Small batch,[6] Blended whisky[7]
Related products
Website[Welsh Whisky Society]

Whisky has been distilled in Wales since the Middle Ages, but production died out in the late nineteenth century. In the 1990s attempts were made to revive the practice, resulting in the establishment of Wales's first distillery in over one hundred years.[citation needed]

History

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Origin

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Wales has a long history of alcohol production, but distillation came in the Middle Ages. The first evidence of stills in Wales dates to the 4th century AD.[8]

"The Great Welsh Warrior" Reaullt Hir is said to have distilled chwisgi from braggot brewed by the monks of Bardsey Island in AD 356. These monks then allegedly developed the art of distilling further.[9] However this is unlikely. The name "Reaullt" is a High Medieval loanword from Anglo-Norman French,[10] so this name would not have been used before the eleventh century.

The medieval Welsh stories of The Mabinogion mention fermentation but not distillation; the end of the "Mead Song" in a sixteenth-century manuscript of the sixth-century Tales of Taliesin mentions distillation, although mead is a fermented beverage.[citation needed]

Revival

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Penderyn Distillery

Manufacturing of whisky in Wales declined during the nineteenth century, with the commercial development of liquor discouraged by the rise of the temperance movement. The last notable distillery was established by R. J. Lloyd Price in 1887 at Frongoch. His company, the Welsh Whisky Distillery Company, was not a success and was sold in 1900 to William Owen of Bala for £5000.[11] The company was finally liquidated in 1910.[12]

In the 1990s entrepreneurs attempted to revive distillation in the country. The first attempts entailed bottling Scottish blends in Wales as "Welsh whisky", but a lawsuit by Scotch distillers ended the enterprise.[13] In 2000 the foundation of the Welsh Whisky Company (now known as Penderyn) was announced. A distillery was built at Penderyn in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Production commenced in 2000 and the finished product, the first whisky commercially produced in Wales for a century, went on sale in 2004.[14]

In 2016 the Dà Mhìle distillery near Llandysul in west Wales bottled its first whisky, an organic single grain whisky.[citation needed]

In 2017, with two distilleries actively making and marketing whisky, Wales was officially recognised under European Union legislation as having a whisky industry.[15][16] By February 2020, two more had begun operations: the Aber Falls distillery and Coles distillery.[17]

The Aber Falls distillery in Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, commenced production in late 2017 and released its first whisky in 2021 after delaying the launch due to the Coronavirus.[18][19]

In 2020, the Coles distillery[17][20] produced the third single malt whisky in Wales at Llanddarog in Carmarthenshire, making it the fourth to begin production and the third to release whisky onto the market.[17]

Definition

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In August 2021 a group of Welsh distillers submitted an application for a geographical indication (GI)[21]

On July 24, 2023 the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs granted Welsh Whisky a geographical indication.[22]

In order for whiskies to be branded as Welsh they must to comply with a legally set criteria.

Welsh whisky must:

  • be made using 100% Welsh malted barley
  • use water of 100% Welsh origin
  • be produced in Wales at all stages from brewing to bottling. [23]

Distilleries

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As of December 2022, there are seven whisky distilleries across Wales.[24]

Aber Falls

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The Aber Falls distillery in Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, began production in 2017 and released its first whisky on 17 May 2021.[25]

Anglesey Môn

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Anglesey Môn distillery was established in 2018 near Pentraeth on Anglesey.[26]

Coles

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The Coles distillery, which also produces gin and vodka, is set in the Carmarthenshire countryside in the village of Llanddarog.[20]

Dà Mhìle

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The name of the distillery was inspired by the initial bottling commissioned to Springbank to celebrate the millennium, (Dà Mhìle is Scottish Gaelic and translates to "two thousand").[27] The owners, John, Patrice and Paula came to Wales from the Netherlands with dreams of setting up a centre for organic farming near Llandysul, Ceredigion.[27] In 2012 they opened the doors to the distillery on the farm, producing their first organic single malt.

In the Welsh Wind

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The 'In the Welsh Wind' distillery in Tan-y-groes, Ceredigion, was founded in January 2018. In 2021 it received permission to extend and develop the existing building and to construct a cask and grain store, which will allow it to complete all the steps of whisky production.[28]

Penderyn

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For the distillery formerly known as The Welsh Whisky Company Distillery, see Penderyn distillery.

The Penderyn distillery (formerly: The Welsh whisky company distillery[29])in Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf was established in 2000 and was the first commercial distillery operating in Wales since the 19th century.

Brands

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No Brands No of Releases Cite
1. Penderyn 341 [30] Penderyn Madeira Single Malt

Penderyn Celt Single Malt Whisky

Penderyn Single Cask Malt Whisky [31]

[32]
2. Dà Mhìle 20 [33] Dà Mhìle Single Grain Welsh Whisky 2022[34]
3. Aber Falls Distillery 12[35] Aber Falls Inaugural release 2021 Single Malt Whisky

Aber Falls Single Malt Whisky Distillers Cut 2021[36]

Aber Falls Limited Edition ‘Manzanilla’ Single Malt [37]

4. In The Welsh Wind 2 Palo Cortado Cask[38]

Rum Cask[39]

Economic

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As of July 2023 Welsh whisky is available in 45 countries, with the total value of exports forecast to generate £23m this year. [40]

Achievements

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On July 5, 2016 two bottles from The Welsh Whisky Distillery Company [a], dating from around the 1900s, were sold for a combined total of £14,500 to a private bidder.[41]

See also

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Economic

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Economy of Wales

Food and drink industry of Wales

Whisky

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Welsh Whisky Geographical Indication (GI)

Organisations

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British Distillers Alliance

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The Welsh Whisky Company Distillery has been renamed the Penderyn distillery

References

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  1. ^ "Dà Mhìle Organic Single Grain Welsh Whisky – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  2. ^ Britner, Lucy (25 July 2023). "Single malt Welsh whisky gains GI – Drinks Retailing". Drinks Retailing – Championing the off-trade since 1863. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  3. ^ Ranscombe, Peter (24 July 2023). "Welsh single malt whisky gains legal protection". Decanter. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Aber Falls Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. 23 July 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Penderyn Bourbon Matured Single Cask – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. 31 March 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  6. ^ "Penderyn Small Batch Release – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Penderyn Patagonia – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Distilling in Wales". Penderyn. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  9. ^ Mary Chitty (1992). The monks on Ynys Enlli.
  10. ^ Kraaijeveld, Alex. "Welsh whisky – The Early Myths". Celtic Malts. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  11. ^ Deeds relating to Frongoch Whiskey Distillery, Llanfor Meirionnydd Archives
  12. ^ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 957–958. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
  13. ^ Amanda Kelly (8 May 2000). "Welsh will make a rare bit of whiskey". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Rebirth of Welsh whisky spirit". BBC News. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  15. ^ "Wales secures 'whisky' status as Dà Mhìle bottles grain". www.thespiritsbusiness.com. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  16. ^ Pyke, Chris (26 September 2016). "Wales can now officially be called a whisky nation". Wales Online. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  17. ^ a b c Pyke, Chris (21 February 2020). "Distillery has created its first single malt whisky". Business Live.
  18. ^ Hughes, Owen (14 August 2017). "North Wales's first whisky distillery set to start production...but drinkers will have to wait for first tipple". Daily Post (North Wales). Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Aber Falls Whisky Distillery". www.aberfallsdistillery.com.
  20. ^ a b "Coles Distillery". Business Wales.
  21. ^ "Welsh single malt whisky secures geographical indication". whiskymag.com. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  22. ^ Ranscombe, Peter (24 July 2023). "Welsh single malt whisky gains legal protection". Decanter. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  23. ^ "New protected status for Single Malt Welsh Whisky". www.mills-reeve.com. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  24. ^ "Whisky in Wales: The birth of Wisgi Cymreig". whiskymag.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  25. ^ @aberdistillery (15 May 2021). "This week we made history by bottling our very first casks of whisky. This is the first bottle we numbered, 1 of 2000. What a moment!" – via Instagram.
  26. ^ Hughes, Owen (19 May 2018). "Anglesey Môn Distillery has this week announced its arrival on the craft spirit scene". Daily Post.
  27. ^ a b "History + Farm". Dà Mhìle Distillery. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  28. ^ "Planning Permission Granted for Award-Winning Welsh Whisky Distillery". Business News Wales. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Penderyn Distillery (The Welsh Whisky Company)". www.diffordsguide.com. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Penderyn". www.whiskybase.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  31. ^ Barton, Susannah Skiver (23 February 2022). "Best Welsh Whiskies to Celebrate Wales' National Holiday". Men's Journal. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  32. ^ Dominic (31 July 2023). "A History of Welsh Whisky". Whisky Investment. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  33. ^ "Brands – Whiskybase – Ratings and reviews for whisky". www.whiskybase.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  34. ^ "Dà Mhìle Organic Single Malt Welsh Whisky – Ratings and reviews – Whiskybase". Whiskybase.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Brands – Whiskybase – Ratings and reviews for whisky". www.whiskybase.com. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  36. ^ "The 10 English/Welsh Whiskies you Have to Try!". The Three Drinkers. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Aber Falls Releases Limited Edition 'Manzanilla' Single Malt Welsh Whisky". 29 November 2024.
  38. ^ "In The Welsh Wind First Release". 28 April 2024.
  39. ^ "In the Welsh Wind Second Release Whisky Pre-Sale a Sell Out". 1 November 2024.
  40. ^ foodmanufacture.co.uk (24 July 2023). "Welsh whisky receives global protected status". foodmanufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  41. ^ "Whisky from 1900 sells for £14,500". BBC News. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2024.

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