Water & Climate

At none of the four Welsh distilleries does the water travel far. Penderyn sits on the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park, exactly where the red sandstone hills give way to limestone. Rainwater seeps through the rock before emerging again as a clear spring. That very spring near the village of Penderyn was one of the reasons the distillery was built right there.

In Abergwyngregyn in the north, the water source even lends its name to the whisky. The Rhaeadr Fawr waterfall, known in English as Aber Falls, plunges down right behind the distillery, fed by the Afon Aber flowing from the mountains of Eryri.

In the Welsh Wind, by contrast, sits on the open Ceredigion coast, looking out over Cardigan Bay. The name says it all. Winds off the Irish Sea bring moisture and salt, and the warehouse feels the climate directly. Mild winters and rarely much summer heat shape the year.

At Coles in Carmarthenshire, the water comes from the distillery's own well, fed by a spring in the county's hills. As everywhere in Wales, rain is less a problem than a constant companion. That same damp, oceanic rhythm lets the casks in the warehouses breathe evenly.

The difference between the sites looks small on a map, but it's noticeable in the whisky. The mountain climate around Penderyn stays cool and changeable, with fog that often doesn't lift until midday. Ceredigion, on the other hand, sits right on the open sea, with more wind and noticeably saltier air over the warehouses. Both leave their mark on the glass later.