Welsh whisky

Welsh whisky(Welsh:wisgi Cymreig) isliquormade from malt, grain and water that is produced inWales.There are currently two types of Welsh whiskyMalt WhiskyandGrain Whisky

Welsh whisky

Example of active whisky distillery in Wales
Type	Distilled beverage
Country of origin	Wales
Introduced	First introduced / Reintroduced 1800 / 2016
Discontinued	1900
Alcohol by volume	40%- 63.2%
Colour	Caramel
Ingredients	Malt,Water,Grains
Variants	Single malt,Single cask,Small batch,Blended whisky
Related products	Scotch whisky English whisky Irish whiskey

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.

History

Origin

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.

"The Great Welsh Warrior" Reaullt Hir is said to have distilledchwisgifrombraggotbrewed by the monks ofBardsey Islandin AD 356. These monks then allegedly developed the art of distilling further.However this is unlikely. The name "Reaullt" is aHigh Medievalloanword fromAnglo-Norman French,so this name would not have been used before the eleventh century.

The medieval Welsh stories ofTheMabinogionmentionfermentationbut not distillation; the end of the "Mead Song" in a sixteenth-century manuscript of the sixth-centuryTales ofTaliesinmentions distillation, althoughmeadis afermented beverage.

Revival

Penderyn Distillery

Manufacturing of whisky in Wales declined during the nineteenth century, with the commercial development of liquor discouraged by the rise of thetemperance movement.The last notable distillery was established byR. J. Lloyd Pricein 1887 atFrongoch.His company, the Welsh Whisky Distillery Company, was not a success and was sold in 1900 to William Owen ofBalafor £5000.The company was finally liquidated in 1910.

In the 1990s entrepreneurs attempted to revive distillation in the country. The first attempts entailed bottlingScottish blendsin Wales as "Welsh whisky", but a lawsuit by Scotch distillers ended the enterprise.In 2000 the foundation of the Welsh Whisky Company (now known asPenderyn) was announced. A distillery was built atPenderynin theBrecon BeaconsNational Park. Production commenced in 2000 and the finished product, the first whisky commercially produced in Wales for a century, went on sale in 2004.

In 2016 theDà Mhìle distillerynearLlandysulin west Wales bottled its first whisky, an organic singlegrain whisky.

In 2017, with two distilleries actively making and marketing whisky, Wales was officially recognised under European Union legislation as having a whisky industry.By February 2020, two more had begun operations: theAber Falls distilleryandColes distillery.

The Aber Falls distillery inAbergwyngregyn,Gwynedd, commenced production in late 2017 and released its first whisky in 2021 after delaying the launch due to theCoronavirus.

In 2020, the Coles distilleryproduced the third single malt whisky in Wales atLlanddarogin Carmarthenshire, making it the fourth to begin production and the third to release whisky onto the market.

Definition

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

On July 24, 2023 theDepartment for Environment Food and Rural Affairsgranted Welsh Whisky a geographical indication.

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.

Distilleries

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

Aber Falls

TheAber Fallsdistillery inAbergwyngregyn,Gwynedd, began production in 2017 and released its first whisky on 17 May 2021.

Anglesey Môn

Anglesey Môn distillery was established in 2018 nearPentraethon Anglesey.

Coles

The Coles distillery, which also produces gin and vodka, is set in the Carmarthenshire countryside in the village ofLlanddarog.

Dà Mhìle

The name of the distillery was inspired by the initial bottling commissioned toSpringbankto celebrate the millennium, (Dà MhìleisScottish Gaelicand translates to "two thousand" ).The owners, John, Patrice and Paula came to Wales from theNetherlandswith dreams of setting up a centre for organic farming nearLlandysul,Ceredigion.In 2012 they opened the doors to the distillery on the farm, producing their first organic single malt.

In the Welsh Wind

The 'In the Welsh Wind' distillery inTan-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.

Penderyn

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

ThePenderyn distillery(formerly: The Welsh whisky company distillery)inPenderyn, Rhondda Cynon Tafwas established in 2000 and was the first commercial distillery operating in Wales since the 19th century.

Brands

No	Brands	No of Releases		Cite
1.	Penderyn	341	Penderyn Madeira Single Malt Penderyn Celt Single Malt Whisky Penderyn Single Cask Malt Whisky
2.	Dà Mhìle	19	Dà Mhìle Single Grain Welsh Whisky 2022
3.	Aber Falls Distillery	12	Aber Falls Autumn release 2021 Single Malt Whisky Aber Falls Single Malt Whisky Distillers Cut 2021
4.	In The Welsh Wind

Economic

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

Achievements

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

See also

Economic

Economy of Wales

Food and drink industry of Wales

Whisky

• Outline of whisky
• List of whisky brands
• List of British Standards
• New world whisky

External links

Welsh Whisky Geographical Indication (GI)

Organisations

British Distillers Alliance