A Guide to Welsh Whisky
Welsh whisky has quietly come of age. Once a footnote in the story of British spirits, it now stands on its own, with its own character, its own makers and a growing shelf of awards. If you are new to it, or wondering what sets it apart from Scotch or Irish whiskey, here is what to know.
What is Welsh whisky?
Welsh whisky is, simply, whisky made in Wales. The modern revival began in 2000 with the founding of Penderyn, and the category has grown steadily since, with distilleries now working the length of the country. In 2023, Single Malt Welsh Whisky was granted Protected Geographical Indication status, the first spirit protected under the UK scheme. The name can now only be used for whisky made entirely in Wales, and we were one of five Welsh distilleries whose application secured it.
What makes Welsh whisky distinctive
Wales brings its own ingredients to the glass. A mild, damp maritime climate shapes how spirit matures in the cask. Welsh barley, Welsh water and Welsh weather all leave their mark. But more than any single factor, what defines the best Welsh whisky is intent: small distilleries making deliberate choices about where their grain comes from and how their spirit is made.
Welsh whisky brands
Wales is still a small whisky nation, which is part of its appeal. A handful of distilleries make single malt and blended Welsh whisky, each with its own character and sense of place. Among the names to know are Penderyn, who relaunched Welsh single malt in 2004 and now distil across three sites; Aber Falls in the north; Dà Mhìle, the organic pioneer in Ceredigion; Coles in Carmarthenshire; and ourselves at In the Welsh Wind, on the Ceredigion coast. Together they were the founding members of the Welsh Whisky Association, whose work secured Protected Geographical Indication status for Single Malt Welsh Whisky in 2023. And the map keeps filling in. Anglesey Môn on Anglesey and Myrddins in Barmouth are already bottling whisky of their own, and Hensol Castle, in the cellars of a seventeenth-century castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, has its first single malt maturing. More distilleries are starting to distil and mature in Wales every year, and every new cask laid down makes Welsh whisky stronger as a whole.
Welsh whisky distilleries
One of the pleasures of Welsh whisky is that you can visit the places it is made. Almost every Welsh whisky distillery is open to the public, so a tour through Wales can take in several in a single trip. Each sits in its own landscape, from the Brecon Beacons to the north coast to the fields of west Wales, and each tells its story a little differently. If you would like to see how grain to glass whisky is made on the Ceredigion coast, you can visit our distillery and walk the process from barley to bottle.
Grain to glass, the In the Welsh Wind way
We are the only Welsh distillery producing 100 percent grain-to-glass whisky in Wales. For our green malt whisky all of our barley is grown within 10 miles of the distillery and doesn't leave the country until it is delivered to you. Our green malt barley captures the raw taste of our Ceredigion fields, and you can read more about this in our Welsh Origin Whisky story.
Our Welsh whiskies
Our trio of blended Welsh malts is now complete, joined by our first fully Welsh single malt.
If you want the detail on what a blended malt actually is, and how the three sit against each other, read our guide to blended Welsh whisky.
- Brychan, the first of the trio, awarded Gold and named Best Welsh Blended Malt at the World Whiskies Awards 2026.
- Ceredig, the second, and the debut of our green malt spirit outside a single malt.
- Meirion, the third and final blend in the trio. Maritime, fruity and gently smoky, with more green malt than Ceredig, a Marsala cask influence and a light touch of peat. Bottled at 46 percent and non-chill filtered.
- Rhif Un, our first fully Welsh single malt, grain to glass. Distilled from unkilned green malt using 100 percent Ceredigion barley and matured in Palo Cortado, red wine and sweet sherry casks. The first of our whiskies to embody Tir, our sense of place, released as a numbered limited edition.
Before Rhif Un, there were two earlier releases:
Palo Cortado release. Our first release saw the very first whisky we produced and aged in small casks, married together and finished in a Palo Cortado cask. This small batch release of 600 bottles was highly anticipated and sold out in a couple of days.
Rum cask release. Release number two saw another combination of small cask whiskies finished together in a rum cask. This was a smaller batch of 350 bottles, but equally anticipated, as these bottles also didn't last long.
Alongside these, we released a small number of independent bottlings, exploring the character different casks can bring while our own spirit matures quietly in the warehouse. And for those who want to go further, you can own your own cask of Welsh single malt and follow it from field to glass.
How to enjoy Welsh whisky
Welsh whisky rewards an unhurried approach. Pour a measure neat, warmed gently in the hand, and let it open. If you prefer something longer, our Amaro Cymru cocktail is a fine place to start.
Explore the range
Discover our full range of Welsh whisky, made grain to glass on the Ceredigion coast.
