NINE: Liverpool and Wales Legend Ian Rush Launches Welsh Single Malt Whisky with Penderyn Distillery

Liverpool and Wales legend Ian Rush MBE, whose extraordinary senior career produced 411 goals in 892 appearances, has joined forces with Penderyn Distillery, the home of Welsh whisky, to launch NINE, a nine-year-old Welsh single malt whisky matured in Tawny port casks and personally selected by Rush himself.

Named after the number nine shirt Rush made famous at Anfield, NINE brings together two unmistakably Welsh names while celebrating one of the most prolific goalscoring careers in British football.

Across a senior career spanning Chester, Liverpool, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Wrexham and Sydney Olympic, Rush made 892 appearances and scored 411 goals.

At Liverpool, he became the greatest goalscorer in the club's history, scoring 346 goals in 660 appearances across 15 seasons on Merseyside. On 18 October 1992, his 287th Liverpool goal, against Manchester United at Old Trafford, took him beyond Roger Hunt's previous record. More than three decades later, Rush's Liverpool record remains unmatched.

For Wales, Rush scored 28 goals in 73 international appearances, becoming his country's record goalscorer in 1993. He held the record for 25 years until Gareth Bale surpassed it in 2018.

Now, the number that defined Rush's career has inspired a whisky created to carry his name.

NINE Years. Number NINE.NINE is a nine-year-old Welsh single malt matured in Tawny port casks, with Rush personally involved in selecting the liquid at Penderyn.

The nine-year maturation was chosen as a direct reference to the shirt number synonymous with Rush's career, creating a natural connection between the whisky and one of football's most famous number nines.

But while the whisky's name draws directly from football, its striking presentation takes its inspiration from somewhere else entirely.

NINE is presented in a distinctive bottle with a gold finish, its design inspired by the sophistication, glamour and cinematic style.

The pack was designed by threebrand in Leith, Edinburgh. The gold finish is deliberately not based on the red colours of club and country instead, the bottle has been conceived as a premium standalone object, giving NINE an identity beyond conventional football merchandise and positioning it equally as a collector's piece, luxury gift and Welsh single malt whisky.

The gold aesthetic evokes timeless British style and a sense of occasion, giving NINE a distinctive presence designed to stand out in a whisky collection, behind a bar or on display.

The result is a whisky that celebrates Rush's footballing legacy without simply reproducing the traditional colours associated with his career.

"I wore the number nine for Liverpool and it means everything to me, so this had to be nine, nine years old and named after the shirt," said Ian Rush.

"I'm a proud Welshman and Penderyn is Wales' whisky, so there was never any other distillery I wanted to do this with. I tasted my way through the casks myself and I wasn't going to put my name on it unless I'd be happy pouring it for my family and friends.

"I also wanted the bottle to look completely different. It's stylish and has a bit of glamour about it "It's for Liverpool fans, it's for Wales, but it's also for anyone who appreciates a proper single malt. I can't wait to put a bottle in the hands of a few old teammates and acquaintances.The Goalscorer's Goalscorer Rush's career remains one of the defining goalscoring stories of modern British football.

His movement and ability to appear behind defenders earned him the nickname "The Ghost", while his partnership with Kenny Dalglish became one of the most celebrated attacking combinations in Liverpool history.

Among his defining performances was the 1986 FA Cup Final, when Rush scored twice as Liverpool came from behind to defeat Everton 3-1 at Wembley and complete the League and FA Cup Double.

His Liverpool honours included five league titles, two European Cups, three FA Cups and five League Cups, placing him among the most decorated players in the club's history.

Personally Selected at Penderyn

Rush's involvement in NINE extended beyond lending his name and famous shirt number to the project.

He travelled to Penderyn and took part in the selection process himself, tasting the whisky before choosing the liquid that would ultimately carry the NINE name.

The collaboration connects Rush's Welsh roots with a distillery that helped revive an entire national whisky industry after an absence of more than a century.

Stephen Davies, Chief Executive of Penderyn Distillery, said:

"Ian Rush is a Welsh sporting legend and a genuine whisky man, which is exactly the combination we look for.

"Penderyn was built to demonstrate that Wales could produce world-class single malt whisky, while Ian's career took a young Welsh footballer from Flint to the very highest level of the European game.

"What makes NINE particularly special is Ian's involvement. He came to Penderyn, tasted the whisky and selected the liquid with our team. This isn't simply Ian's name placed on an existing bottle."The nine-year age statement has an obvious and authentic connection to his career, while the whisky itself represents the quality and character that Penderyn has built its reputation upon.

From Wales to the World

Penderyn began distilling in the foothills of Bannau Brycheiniog, the Brecon Beacons, in 2000, reviving Welsh whisky production after an absence of more than a century.

Its first whisky was released in 2004. The company has subsequently expanded across Wales, opening its Llandudno Distillery in 2021, housed in the Grade II listed former Old Board School on Lloyd Street, followed by its Swansea Copperworks Distillery in 2023.

Penderyn has collected more than 100 international awards and has established Welsh single malt whisky in markets around the world.

Llandudno holds particular significance for the NINE collaboration.

Rush was born in St Asaph, Denbighshire, and raised in Flint, making North Wales central to his personal story. Llandudno will therefore form a focal point for launch activity alongside Chester and the wider North Wales and Merseyside corridor.

A Number That Defined a Career

The number nine is inseparable from Rush's footballing story.

His 346 Liverpool goals remain the benchmark at Anfield, while his 28 goals for Wales made him his country's record international goalscorer for a quarter of a century. His trophy collection with Liverpool included five league championships, two European Cups, three FA Cups and five League Cups.

NINE turns that sporting legacy into a Welsh product with its own identity, bringing together Rush's number, his North Wales roots and Penderyn's place in the revival of Welsh whisky.

"Greatness comes from passion and commitment. This whisky was created with those same values." - Ian Rush MBE