Gillian Macdonald - Distiller  Gillian joined the company and became the only Distiller in Wales. She has a great name for a whisky maker! There is a page feature on Penderyn here for further info, log on to www.welsh-whisky.co.uk 

 

Penderyn Distillery is based in the traditional village of Penderyn, which itself lies within the southern reaches of the scenic Brecon Beacons National Park. The area has spectacular mountain scenery, open moorland and valleys containing fast-flowing streams, rivers and waterfalls. The famous and popular Scwd-yr-Eira waterfall is within walking distance of the distillery.

Visitor Centre Enquiries; Keith Tench
keitht@welsh-whisky.co.uk 

The Welsh Whisky Company
Penderyn Distillery, Penderyn 01685 810651

Are you working on any special new drams which we may see in the near future? We are always working on something. We hope to release a few more single cask, cask strength this year and a Portwood edition of Penderyn for the French market initially too.

  

Hello Gillian, good of you to spare us a wee bit of your precious time. The very first question I wish to ask, how do you pronounce the name Penderyn?  Having lived in Wales I am at odds with Willie (who has not) on how it's pronounced. Er right, I WON!!! "pen-derren" Thanks Gillian.

A girl with a Welsh accent but a Scottish name, how's that come about?  I am Am married to a Scotsman – but Welsh born and bred though and through – from Fishguard in Pembrokeshire originally. Now live in Cardiff.

How did you learn the trade?  Very much on the job really – getting stuck in from day one and doing all and every job that came my way. Dr Jim Swan has been my guidance throughout from the distilling right through to the cask selection.

How do you select casks? Totally based on the nose of a cask. We nose each cask individually and rate it out of 5. Along with this we add tasting notes and only once it has hit a 5 we put it forward for bottling. Our casks are ‘ready when their ready’ – they are not selected based on the age of the whisky but on each casks individual development.

What is your favourite part of the job? The satisfaction of seeing Penderyn out there in several countries representing Wales – it is a really proud achievement. Also getting people to taste Penderyn for the first time at shows and seeing their reactions, explaining all the unique points about our whisky – it really is a good story.

What are your day to day tasks? To say my job is varied is an understatement. My day can go from doing paperwork at my desk to driving a forklift truck in the warehouse to taking a Masterclass in our boardroom to nosing samples for bottling batches to serving in the visitors centre shop with everything In-between too. The joys of working for a small company – keeps it interesting!

What is your least favourite part of the job? Probably paperwork – the unavoidable boring stuff.  Sorry that question should have come sooner! PAUL

Do you take any masterclasses at the distillery? Or plan to? Yes we do – myself and Keith (Visitor centre manager) aim to run 4 master classes a month. There are not more than 12 people in the class and the idea is to introduce everyone attending to the world on whisky and ignite their enthusiasm to go and find out more once they leave. More details on our website under the visitor centre pages.

You are a one of the few ladies in the trade did that worry you at all at first? Not really – even when I applied for the job I did not really think about this aspect at all – I had all the relevant qualifications and requirements. Once in the job a realised I was one of the few – but there you go – that’s life. Everyone in the world of whisky are usually very welcoming and I have found this the case everywhere I have gone.

and does it cause any strange questions? Not overly strange – if anything it catches people off guard – which is great fun to watch their faces as I am introduced – I think most are expecting me to be possibly sales or marketing and you see their eyebrows rise in surprise as I am introduced as the distiller. It is a great conversation point.

How do your fellow distillers treat you? Great – as I mentioned before – the whisky industry is a great and friendly industry to be involved in and there is a welcome from everyone.

You have travelled a fair bit we understand - was this whisky related or not? I love travelling – meeting people and seeing new and different cultures. Pre this job at Penderyn after university I took a year off and travelled to the states, NZ, Australia, Bali, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Since joining the company I have been able to continue this passion – combining it with whisky shows in Canada, the States, South Africa and Europe – very lucky.

Relaxing at home what whisky would you pour yourself? I would most probably not have a whisky – believe it or not – but a beer. If I was to pour a glass though it would probably be a Highland Park.