Penderyn adds gold flakes to whisky for Asia

Welsh distillery Penderyn is to launch a whisky containing edible gold flakes exclusively for Chinese and Taiwanese customers.

Penderyn Distillery has made the unprecedented move of adding gold flakes to its Welsh whisky

The release is a result of an agreement between Penderyn and Gold Nano Tech (GNT) of Taiwan, which has supplied the gold flakes for the whisky.

Each edible gold flake is just 30 nanometres thick, a quarter of the thickness of traditional gold flake and is approved by Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare for consumption.

Penderyn has shipped its first consignment of 10,000 bottles to Taiwan, which will retail at around US$100 each.

Stephen Davies, managing director of Penderyn Distillery, told WalesOnline: “We have established a strong brand and business and we are now at the stage where we want to capitalise on that and look for expansion which what the joint venture with GNT has done.

“Whisky is a competitive marketplace but we are fully confident we can increase sales both at home and abroad.”

Last summer, the distillery secured a £900,000 investment from HSBC’s South West Wales commercial team to build three new stills that would more than double its capacity.

Penderyn expects to double its £4m annual turnover within seven years.

While adding gold flakes to whisky is a rarely heard of feat – with the exception of Gold Rush, bottled by the House of Macduff , some spirits brands have pegged their success on creating sparkly liquid.

Smirnoff Gold, a cinnamon-flavoured vodka liqueur launched in August last year, claims to have seen phenomenal success, while Goldschlager continue to be a favoured shot by student communities around the UK.