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]
Type | Distilled beverage |
---|---|
Country of origin | Wales |
Introduced | First introduced / Reintroduced 1800 / 2016 |
Discontinued | 1900 |
Alcohol by volume | 40% [4] – 63.2% [5] |
Colour | Caramel |
Ingredients | Malt, Water, Grains |
Variants | Single 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 ]
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 ]
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]
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:
As of December 2022, there are seven whisky distilleries across Wales. [24]
The Aber Falls distillery in Abergwyngregyn, Gwynedd, began production in 2017 and released its first whisky on 17 May 2021. [25]
Anglesey Môn distillery was established in 2018 near Pentraeth on Anglesey. [26]
The Coles distillery, which also produces gin and vodka, is set in the Carmarthenshire countryside in the village of Llanddarog. [20]
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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.
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]
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.
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] |
As of July 2023 Welsh whisky is available in 45 countries, with the total value of exports forecast to generate £23m this year. [40]
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]
Scotch whisky, often simply called whisky or Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
Single malt Scotch refers to single malt whisky made in Scotland. To qualify for this category, a whisky must have been distilled at a single distillery using a pot still distillation process and made from a mash of malted barley. Therefore, a single malt means that the whisky has not been blended elsewhere with whisky from other distilleries. As with any Scotch whisky, a single malt Scotch must be distilled in Scotland and matured in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years, although most single malts are matured longer.
Single malt whisky is malt whisky from a single distillery.
Glenmorangie distillery is a distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, that produces single malt Scotch whisky.
Inver House Distillers Ltd. is a Scotch whisky distiller, based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The company is a subsidiary of ThaiBev, one of the largest alcoholic-beverage companies in Southeast Asia.
Japanese whisky is a style of whisky developed and produced in Japan. Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1923 upon the opening of the country's first whisky distillery, Yamazaki. Broadly speaking, the style of Japanese whisky is more similar to that of Scotch whisky than other major styles of whisky.
As of 2006 most distilled spirits labelled as "whisky" in India were a form of Indian-made foreign liquor, commonly blends based on neutral spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky, usually about 10 to 12 percent. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled a rum. According to the Scotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in the European Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky." Such molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004, although whisky wholly distilled from malt and other grains, was also manufactured and sold. By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers. Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004. After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
German whisky is a distilled beverage produced in Germany made from grains traditionally associated with the production of whisky. The distillation of German-made whisky is a relatively recent phenomenon having only started in the last 30 years. The styles produced resemble those made in Ireland, Scotland and the United States: single malts, blends, and bourbon styles. There is no standard spelling of German whiskies with distilleries using both "whisky" and "whiskey" and one even using "Whesskey", a play on the word whisky and Hessen, the state in which it is produced. There are currently 23 distilleries in Germany producing whisky.
Penderyn is a Welsh whisky distillery and brand, producing the first commercially available whisky made in Wales since the 19th century. Produced at the Penderyn Distillery, Penderyn is a single malt whisky produced in several expressions, e.g. Madeira Finish, Peated, Sherrywood and Portwood.
English whisky (whiskey) is a liquor made from cereal grains, malt and water that is produced in England. This includes malt whisky and grain whisky.
Littlemill distillery was a Lowland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Bowling, West Dunbartonshire.
Australian Whisky is whisky produced in Australia. As of December 2021, there were 333 registered distilleries in operation within Australia, of which approximately 50 have a whisky on the market. The industry has shown steady growth since the early 90s especially in the boutique craft distilling scene.
The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co. Ltd. is a producer of Japanese whisky and other beverages headquartered in Tokyo. It is owned by Asahi Group Holdings.
Stauning Whisky is a whisky distillery in Denmark. It is located in the western part of Jutland just south of a small village called Stauning near Skjern. The distillery was founded in May 2005 by nine Danish whisky enthusiasts and is the oldest whisky distillery in the Kingdom of Denmark. The idea was originally to create a whisky resembling the peated whisky produced on the Scottish isle of Islay. The production is done mainly by hand using local grain and water. Everything is produced following the traditional Scottish methods of whisky production. The preparations started in a building owned by one of the nine founders, formerly used as a private slaughter-house. The building was renovated and official permission obtained.
The Cotswolds Distillery was established in 2014, and is one of the few distilleries producing both English whisky and gin.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
Nc'nean distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery in Drimnin on the Morvern peninsula of the Highlands, Scotland. The distillery is beside the Sound of Mull, opposite the Isle of Mull. The distillery name Nc'nean, comes from "Neachneohain", a Gaelic legend which translates as the Queen of Spirits.
New world whisky is an emerging category of malt or grain whiskies that are either produced by countries not usually associated with whisky production, or not produced using traditional methods.