Penderyn Distillery

Distilling in Wales was a lost art, but in the late 1990s, in a Hirwaun pub in the Welsh valleys, Alun Evans the landlord and a group of friends chatted about establishing a distillery. The village of Penderyn was chosen because of the site’s own supply of fresh natural spring water, and the fact that the Alun had a wine warehouse in the village. In 2000 a unique copper single-pot still designed by Dr David Faraday, a relative of the great 19th-century scientist Michael Faraday, was installed and on St David’s Day (1 March) in 2004, Penderyn distillery opened its doors, becoming the first whisky distillery in Wales in over a 100 years.

Before long the distillery needed expansion, and in 2013 and 2014 a replica of the Faraday still, as well as a pair of lantern stills, was installed. Penderyn is a privately owned company, with over 60 shareholders. As a result of the company's success, a new distillery opened in Llandudno, North Wales in May 2021, and a further distillery is planned for Swansea, in South Wales, in 2023.