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Aber Falls whisky gains UK GI status
Halewood-owned Aber Falls Distillery has secured UK geographical indication (GI) status for its Welsh single malt whisky after its bottling process returned to Bangor.
In July, single malt Welsh whisky was successfully registered under the UK GI scheme, which protects the category’s name, authenticity and characteristics.
The UK GI scheme was established in 2021, after the UK left the EU, and ensures certain food and drink products can continue to receive legal protection against fakes and misuse.
Aber Falls, based in Abergwyngregyn, has now gained protected status for its single malt after its bottling hall was reopened in Bangor, Wales, last month.
It had temporarily moved bottling to England last year due to staff shortages, which prevented the company from gaining the GI status.
To be protected under the UK GI, all distilling and bottling of single malt whisky is required to take place in Wales.
Aber Falls now joins four other Welsh single malt whisky distilleries with GI status: Penderyn, In the Welsh Wind, Da Mhile, and Coles.
Carole Jones, general manager of Aber Falls Distillery, said: “The team have worked hard over the past few months, in order for us to gain PGI status.
“Our stumbling block was the bottling process, which had been moved to England in 2022 due to issues finding staff at that time. We pulled out all the stops and reopened our bottling hall in early September; ticking that final box.
“We are now in full swing, with our single malt Welsh whisky being bottled in Bangor for our export and UK markets.”
Aber Falls released its inaugural whisky in May 2021 and opened its visitor centre in the same month.
Exported to 40 countries, the single malt was the first to be distilled in North Wales in more than a century.
The distillery, which began 24-hour production in January this year, also operates three maturation warehouses in the city of Bangor.
Aber Falls is owned by Halewood Artisanal Spirits, which also operates whisky distilleries in Blackpool and Edinburgh.