Penderyn has secured a listing with China Duty Free Group, as part of its ongoing expansion and development in travel retail.

“We will be launching seven Penderyn whiskies with the travel retailer and take our place in the feature dedicated to the history of whisky in the new mall being opened in Hainan Island,” revealed Simon Roffe, Business Development Director at Penderyn.

“We are proud that Penderyn has been recognised for its influence on modern whisky making.”

Worldwide wins are racking up for the brand, which produces award-winning single malt whiskies and spirits in Wales.

The strategy for growth has been adding key locations and working with operators that support the brand’s existing key international footprint and its new development markets.

“Key advances have been made, for example, with JR-DF in Tel Aviv and our first duty free listings in the US,” said Roffe.

“We’ve also seen exciting developments beyond the UK travel retail scene with new business in the Nordics ferries and airlines alongside exciting tie-ups with those in the non-airport channels, such as diplomatic military and border stores.”

Penderyn Distillery (aka The Welsh Whisky Company), had a largely UK-focused duty free and travel retail business prior to the pandemic.

As the recovery of the channel has gathered pace, the company has sought to capitalise on the fast-growing interest in the ‘world whisky’ category, which features brands from new whisky producing countries around the world using innovative techniques in materials, distilling and maturation.

An important foundation for this has been ‘re-invigorating’ its key position with Dufry UK, with a focus on the airports close to its Welsh distilleries.

“Our rates of sale in Dufry UK are back above those we were seeing in 2019 and we have exciting plans to collaborate further in terms of developing the ‘world whisky’ thinking but also provide access to exclusive products,” said Roffe.

The company made its debut at the TFWA World Exhibition in 2021 and will be back this year (Red Village H6) with a number of new duty free and travel retail developments in the pipeline to discuss.

The influence of Wales on the history of whisky making is highlighted in the company’s latest release in its Icons of Wales series of special editions.

Number nine in the series, The Headliner, pays homage to the role the famous Welsh politician David Lloyd George played in creating the framework for the whisky industry.

This single malt release (bottled at 46% abv and matured in a combination of ex-Jamaican rum casks and ex-ruby port casks) pays tribute to Lloyd George’s legislation which introduced the ‘three years and one day’ minimum age for whisky in the UK.

The Headliner will be available at the Penderyn stand in Cannes, alongside its other ranges of single malt whiskies.

The Icons of Wales series also sees the launch of YMA O HYD celebrating Wales’ success in reaching the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The company opening its third distillery in the historic copperworks quarter of Swansea in South Wales next year.

The new facility will add ‘much needed’ distilling capacity on top of its existing locations in the Brecon Beacons and Llandudno.

A new consumer experience at the visitor centre is also in the works for the upcoming distillery.