Penderyn 15 Year Bourbon Matured Single Cask #B105

For this bottling, Penderyn aged their spirit for 15 years in an ex-Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel, yielding only 114 bottles at 59% ABV. This is the oldest Penderyn I've experienced, and I'm keen to try it, as their previous single cask releases like the 10-year Madeira Cask and 13-year Rich Oak were incredible. The nose is lighter and less intense than previous single casks, but you still detect the signature Penderyn fruitiness. It starts with a mix of apricots, mangoes, guavas, and lemon zest, followed by candied almonds. Then, fresh blueberry muffins dusted with cinnamon sugar appear, leading to bourbon caramel over medium-charred sourdough toast with a moderate alcohol vapor. The palate has a medium body, beginning with that fruit blend of apricots, mangoes, guavas, and lemon zest, then blueberry cereal, followed by high spice and moderate tannic oak that overpower other flavors. There's a strong alcohol burn that gradually recedes into a medium finish with guava, orange peel, lemongrass, vanilla cupcake, Sichuan pepper, and moderate tannic oak. Overall, this is a pleasing but underwhelming spirit. The extra years in the barrel seem to have made it thinner than prior releases, muted the rich fruit notes, and added a strong chili spice and tannic oak that don't enhance the experience. Compared to the 10-year Madeira Cask and 13-year Rich Oak, this unfortunately ranks last, proving age isn't always better.

Nose: grain, apple, wood shavings, honey, oats, flowers, pineapple, mango, guava, orange, grapefruit peel, dry oak, cinnamon, with a moderate alcohol burn. Palate: guava, tangerine, salted caramel, vanilla, lemon zest, allspice, ginger, spearmint, pineapple rind, grain, bitter walnuts, sour oak, with a noticeable alcohol presence. The finish is medium-short, featuring notes of citrus zest, tropical fruit, and sour oak. My final tasting of Penderyn is a 15-year single cask aged in an ex-bourbon barrel. The aroma is light, fruity, and dry. The tropical fruit notes, consistent across all Penderyns I've tried, are very prominent. Citrus and baking spices are also present, but an unfortunate grainy, sawdust-like quality underlies everything. The palate delivers tropical fruit, but is dominated by strong citrus, a bitter nuttiness, and a minty, gingery kick. This is above average, but the balance is off. While the tropical fruit is pleasant, it's too grainy, sour, and bitter to be truly enjoyable. The 13-year Rich Oak single cask was the best of the four Penderyns I sampled. My general impression of the distillery is that there are excellent finds, but also some overpriced mediocre offerings. I strongly advise trying before buying. A big thank you to a friend for providing all the Penderyn samples. It was a valuable opportunity to explore Welsh whisky in depth.