Welsh 'nectar' sold at Harrods

The whiskey and brandy are made using traditional recipes

Whiskey and brandy made using traditional Welsh recipes have impressed buyers at Harrods into stocking it at the up-market store.

Black Mountain Brandy and Danzy Jones Whiskey is now being stacked alongside some of the world's top tipples after impressing tasters at the exclusive London shop.

Now the eight full time staff at the small distillery in Abersychan near Pontypool in south Wales which produce the spirits, are working hard to ensure that the bottles never run dry.

Ben Jones, who runs the Celtic Spirit distillery, is thrilled that the drinks are being sold at the store which supplies goods to some of the richest people in the world.

"It was the idea of one of the staff to ask Harrods to consider selling our product and we thought we might as well try," he said.

"So we sent a few samples off and didn't really think anything would come out of it.

'Passionate'

"But they came back to us and said they really liked it and after talking prices with them they agreed to stock it."

Mr Jones set up his company eight years ago as a way of diversifying his farming business.

"It started off as a hobby making cider and then we got onto making the brandy and it has gone from there into a passionate business," he said.

Tasters at Harrods were impressed with the spirits

"We make sure we use traditional Welsh recipes.

"The brandy is a lot different to normal brandy because it is made with apple and blackcurrant - in fact when Prince Charles tasted it, he described it as nectar.

"And the whiskey is more like an American bourbon.

"It is named after my grandfather Danzy Jones and is the sort of stuff he would have carried around with him while he worked as a stonemason."

"We are very pleased that Harrods like our products.

"They are very discriminating over what they stock, because everything has to sell at a premium.

"And the secret of making a good spirit is not to sample it too much - except for Fridays at four o'clock," he laughed.