In the current issue of Outturn, you will discover two bottlings from the only distillery in Wales that currently produces single malt whisky: 128.12: “Where dwell the brave at heart!”, from a Ruby Port cask, and 128.14: Dark chocolate crémeux, from an Oloroso Butt.
At the turn of the millennium, a group of friends from stunning Wales got started with a simple vision: they wanted to revive the Welsh whisky tradition by founding the first Welsh distillery in more than a century.
Their vision became reality with the celebratory opening of the distillery in 2000 under the patronage of the Prince of Wales. Since then, the single malts have received countless international awards and are very much in-demand amongst connoisseurs.
The name of the distillery comes from the old Welsh village located in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
A special Faraday copper still, the only one of its kind in the world, is used for the distillation process. A pot still distillation process, which involves just one step, produces a very pure distillate at 92 % which is extremely rich in aromas and features and extraordinary power and purity. The distillate is always matured in two different types of barrel (traditionally, ex-Bourbon and ex-Madeira). This gives the whiskies their freshness and vibrancy. The spring water from the Brecon Beacons gives the whiskies their mellowness. The distillery also bottles all its own whiskies without any cold filtration and without the use of any colouring agents, but, unlike the Society bottlings, without specifying the age.
I hope you enjoy discovering this whisky gem.
Patric Lutz
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