Penderyn The Headliner is a single malt Welsh whisky bottled at 46% ABV, the ninth release in Penderyn Distillery's Icons of Wales series. It takes its name from David Lloyd George, the only Welsh born Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in recognition of his role in shaping the modern whisky industry through the Immature Spirits Act of 1915, which introduced the requirement that whisky be matured for a minimum of three years before sale. Penderyn is produced by the Welsh Whisky Company, founded in 1998 after a group of friends in a Hirwaun pub set out to bring whisky distilling back to Wales for the first time in more than a century. The first spirit ran from the stills at the Penderyn distillery, in the Brecon Beacons National Park, in September 2000, using water from the site's own natural spring. Whisky here is produced using a single distinctive copper pot still, a method that differs from the double distillation typical of Scotch whisky and lends Penderyn's range its own particular character. The Headliner is matured in a combination of Jamaican rum and Port casks, and bottled without chill filtration. On the nose it offers strawberries and cream, cranberries, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon and oak spice. The palate brings dried fruit, salted caramel and blossom honey, with black pepper spice and dry oak coming through towards the end. It is a whisky that balances fruit driven sweetness from its cask influences against a firmer, spicier backbone, reflecting the combination of rum and Port maturation. Served neat in a tulip shaped nosing glass, The Headliner rewards time spent nosing before tasting, as its fruit and spice notes continue to develop in the glass. Its salted caramel and dried fruit character make it a good match for desserts built around caramel or dark fruit, and it also pairs well with a strong, mature cheese or dark chocolate at the end of a meal. As part of the Icons of Wales series, The Headliner combines a genuine piece of Welsh political and whisky history with a well constructed single malt. For anyone interested in the story behind Wales' modern whisky regulations, or simply looking for a distinctive Penderyn expression built on rum and Port cask maturation, it offers both substance and a strong tasting profile.
