On saturday we attended a masterclass at the Penderyn Distillery at the foot of the Brecon Beacons in Wales.
My husband celebrated a milestone birthday last week and one of his presents was this Masterclass. I couldn't let him go on his own and even though i'm not particularly keen on whisky bought into it for myself.
Penderyn distillery is the only one in Wales and our guide Alan shared his knowledge and passion for this award winning drink with us in the 3 hours or so that we were with him.
We were taught about the history of whisky in Wales and how Penderyn differs, how the whisky is made and how the flavours come about.
We were handed small bottles to try to identify different aromas - massive fail there on our part.
I was a bit wary when we were handed tiny glasses of neat whisky to nose and taste but quite honestly it was a very smooth, delicious drink.
After a tour of the distillery and more insight into the barrels used etc. we headed back upstairs for a tasting session, again very informative and most interesting.
Finally back downstairs to the bar area where the drink flowed freely. Here we sampled each of the spirits produced. Our daughter and fiance joined us but we couldn't persuade them that the drinks were palatable. Just as well really as they had provided the transport for us.
A giftbag containing goodies signalled the end of the class, but as everyone else left I mentioned to Alan that this was a birthday treat for my husband and as we got talking he was given an extra tot to enjoy.
All in all a very enjoyable 3 hours, well worth the journey, only around 40 minutes from Cardiff and worth the money we spent. The visitors centre and shop are open daily, if anyone is in the area we can recommend it.