Where Portwood Reserve dresses Penderyn in red velvet, Rich Oak dresses it in gold brocade. This Gold Range expression takes the distillery's signature spirit, matures it in ex-bourbon casks, and then finishes it in new American oak — the freshly charred kind that pours vanilla and spice into everything it touches.
The nose is luminous. Fresh sawn oak arrives first, then vanilla ice cream and candied lemon, with coconut shavings drifting in from the new wood and a pinch of nutmeg for warmth. It smells, frankly, like a bakery at Christmas.
On the palate it's bright and spicy rather than heavy — orange marmalade on thick toast, toasted oak, a drizzle of honey, and ginger biscuit crumbling at the edges. There's a faint hint of toffee beneath it all. At 46% the new oak could easily bully the spirit, but Penderyn's Faraday-still new-make is so clean and high in strength that the wood sits as a partner rather than a parent.
The finish is medium length and warming, with oak spice, a twist of citrus peel, and a trail of vanilla sweetness that fades slowly. It is the kind of finish that makes you close your eyes for a second.
Rich Oak is a lovely illustration of what Penderyn does well: they let their light, fruit-forward spirit meet assertive wood without being bulldozed by it. Pour it neat in a copita, or alongside something buttery — shortbread, a slice of lemon drizzle cake, the last hour of a long afternoon.
