West Wales distillery In the Welsh Wind has ‘sold out’ of its inaugural release of 30 litre casks of single malt Welsh Origin Whisky.
The distillery, which pioneers locally grown Welsh barley and the use of ‘green’ (unkilned) malt, will now focus on the release of its own bottles over the coming years.
The 30 litre casks were made available as a means of allowing individuals to own some of what will be the only 100% Welsh single malt whisky available on the market for more than 100 years.
In the Welsh Wind is currently the only distillery in Wales which uses only Welsh grown barley in its Welsh Origin Whisky. It’s also the only distillery which completes the entire process, from malting the grain to bottling the matured product, at its site close to the market town of Cardigan, Ceredigion.
Purchasers of the 30 litre casks have been able to choose their cask seasoning from a selection of 10 on offer, from traditional red wine and sherry to more experimental such as Tequila.
In the Welsh Wind Distillery co-owner and director, Ellen Wakelam said: “To have sold out of our 30 litre casks is a massive achievement for us. We are hugely grateful that so many people have seen the excitement in what we are doing and have trusted us in this way.
“We had the idea to sell casks of our new make liquid as a way to allow people to join us on our journey to a ‘Welsh Origin’ whisky. Our whisky sits firmly within the Single Malt Welsh Whisky PGI status that was announced earlier this year.
“The processes we’ve developed over the last couple of years ensure all aspects of production take place here in Wales and reduce the amount of energy we use in our own whisky production.
“Research with the Open University suggests that the combination of local barley and on site malting gives our whisky a flavour profile unique to south Ceredigion.“
Whisky afficionados keen to try In the Welsh Wind’s first single malt Welsh whisky will need to wait until late spring 2024 when the first limited edition bottle release of experimental whisky is currently anticipated.
With the recent upsurge in interest in Welsh whisky, the distillery is expecting demand for its first bottle releases to be high. Details of these limited editions will be available from the distillery website www.inthewelshwind.co.uk and social media channels.