Review by: Raygun

A quick note before anything else for the sake of transparency. This review was done with an industry sample provided free of charge, with no expectations beyond drinking them. As always, I do my best to provide my unbiased opinion, and readers can decide how they want to take this review. For more information, see our Ethics & Transparency statement.

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Penderyn was founded in 2000, the first whisky distillery in Wales in over a century. Penderyn has two Faraday stills, an unusual design that’s sort of a hybrid between a pot and column still, allowing complete distillation from a single still. They also have two standard pot stills, and sometimes use a mix of both. This is one of a number of casks selected by La Maison du Whisky for their Ex Libris line of world whiskies, and are named after famous Welsh books. Rested about 15 minutes. Reviewed from a sample. 

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Distillery: Penderyn 

Bottler: La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris series 

Region/style: Welsh single malt 

ABV: 59.7%

Age: 11 years. Distilled in 2012, bottled in 2023.  

Cask type: Oloroso sherry cask, #S77. 237 bottles.  

Color: 1.0 deep copper. Natural color. Non-chill-filtered.

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Nose: Chocolate-covered cherries, almonds, and dates. This has an herbal aspect as well, perhaps thyme.  

Palate: Pleasant richness. A distinct spice character that I didn’t get from the nose, like gingerbread. Get more cherries, but not the chocolate now. Still herbal, somewhere around thyme and rosemary. Water brings out more dried fruit. 

Finish: More herbs, with mint now joining in. Chocolate returns, along with the almonds. Gingerbread, dates, and some ancho chile. Rich and desserty, but not excessive.

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Conclusion: This and the Taliesin from yesterday were my first experiences with Penderyn. Created a very positive first impression. They are pretty different in most respects, as one would expect from the different cask types. But there’s some shared DNA in the herbal flavors and chocolate. I’m curious to see if this will carry over into other Penderyn expressions. Although it wasn’t specified, I wonder if this was a refill cask. Far from a sherry bomb. I liked Taliesin better, but this was no slouch.

Buy a bottle? More interested in Taliesin, but knowing LMDW, these won’t be cheap.

Score: 79

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Scoring Legend:

• 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
• 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category. (Kavalan Solist Manzanilla)
• 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram. (Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique)
• 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff. (Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton)
• 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting. (Amrut Peated CS)
• 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better. (Taketsuru Pure Malt)
• 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink. (Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve)
• 50-59: Save it for mixing. (Bushmills 10 Malt)
• 0-49: Blech.