Tastes

At the 2021 Irish Whiskey Awards the Celtic Cask 35 not only took top honours in the best Single Cask category, but out of a total of 150 different whiskeys it emerged overall winner as Irish Whiskey of the Year 2021. Don’t let the cask number 35 fool you into thinking it is a 35 year old whiskey. It was initially matured in a first fill bourbon cask for 18 years before being partly decanted in March 2018 for a further period of maturation in an old 125 litre solera sherry cask that previously matured oloroso sherry. [Lengthy aside: one of the proposed changes to the Irish whiskey technical file that were submitted by the Irish Whiskey Association is to remove the use of numbers on labels that may be misinterpreted as an age statement. Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve is seen to be the most popular transgressor and it has been mooted as the reason why the change was suggested. The most significant member of Irish Whiskey Association is Irish Distillers (Pernod Ricard) who are the makers of Jameson.] The sherry influence is significant in this whiskey and maybe overpoweringly so. The nose is a festive winter bouquet of mince pies, brandy, banana, fig, dark chocolate, and Christmas cake. The sherry influence dominates the palate and finish where it comes across as dry, sweet and tannic dark fruits much like a tonic wine. At 53.25% abv it is a bit numbing and it is all the better for a good dash of water to dampen its tannic and the spirity nature. As it happens, as a lottery winning member of my whiskey club I was one of the many judges for the Irish Whiskey Awards this year, and this was one of the 35 whiskeys that I blind tasted and rated. I rated it 33rd out of those 35 drams 😮 which goes to show how individual taste is or how pants I am at this whiskey lark. Most likely a little from column A; a little from column B.

Nose: rhubarb crumble, touch of chocolate, apple tart crust, custard, tiramisu, red wine, musty red grape skin, toffee Taste: salt, oaky, spice, red apples, winey, nothing peaty, slight walnut Finish: salt, tea This smells better than it tastes but the palate improved after a while in the glass, and again with a drop of water - less salty and tannic. It doesn’t remind me of any other scotches. In fact it more closely compares to some wine-aged Irish malts from the Cooley distillery that I have tried. I got this 3cl sample in a gift pack from Tasting.com and the accompanying booklet shows the image of this regular 16yo which is ex-bourbon cask matured. But my guess is I was given the 16yo Sauternes Finish. I tasted this alongside BenRiach’s Septendecim and for me this was better.

This is another sample received from the Celtic Whiskey Club and on the face of it, Egan’s Fortitude single malt should have a lot going for it: ✅ Non-chillfiltered ✅ 46% ABV ✅ Full maturation in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks The nose started off well enough with a pleasing smell of Cadbury’s fruit & nut chocolate and Christmas mince pies. However, I found the palate was hot and spirity and seemed to betray a rather young distillate and the sherry maturation delivered a dry, musty, tannic taste. The finish continued the hot and tannic theme, with pepper, strong tea, and nut being the flavours that were most prominent for me. Overall it was pretty unremarkable, bordering on not nice. There was something harsh and young about it, and the full maturation in PX seemed a vain attempt to knock the edges of it rather than a thoughtful means of achieving balance or complexity.

Released in 2021, this is volume IV of the Egan’s Legacy Reserve series. It’s aged for 17 years in ex-Bourbon barrels before a further year of maturation in Moscatel De Valencia casks. Each volume release gets a year older than the last, and each release is limited to 1000 bottles.I got a sample of this year’s release by way of the Celtic Whiskey Club. The nose is a little muted, but I guess there isn’t much in the sample. ‘Not brash or overpowering’ would be another way to put it. Leather, blackberry, orange. Bodes well. Mmmm! Rich, nutty taste that develops into an eruption of delicious fruitiness – hard to pick out what. The finish is a warm and long spiciness with a slightly tannic taper. This is hella nice! What’s nicer is that as part of the Celtic Whiskey Club.tasting session I was lucky enough to bag a bottle as a prize. Whoop!

I visited the Teeling distillery last month, took in a tour (self-guided these days), and I got to sample this spirit and take some home. The overall impression of this single pot still is of a spirit too young yet to be considered good. The nose appears very young, grainy and chemically (is it the feints that smell more like that?). In addition to apples and superglue, I get a bit of a farmyard smell and detect grass and hay like the Distiller tasting notes highlight. It hits the palate hot and peppery, which is not unusual for a pot still whiskey. But I don't get much else other than a hot, young spirit - it could just as well be tequila. There is no finesse. You won’t find comparisons to John’s Lane or Redbreast. It is very much like a new make; a poitín taste. Who knows what the years will bring to this but for now I just think it's mediocre.

Cooley Distillery, now owned by Beam Suntory, are like the MGP of Ireland. They do have a few brands of their own (Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, Connemara) but their distillate is used in probably 40 or so brands of Irish whiskey and is the source of most of the “output” of the glut of newly established whiskey companies waiting on their own distilleries to be built or their own stock to mature. Teeling is Cooley. Glendalough is Cooley. Fercullen is Cooley. If you have some Knappogue Castle you are drinking some of the Cooley-Aid. The Whistler range from Boann is also sourced from this same distillery in County Louth. The Boann distillery was opened in 2017 in the neighbouring County Meath and they are laying down stock with an expectation of releasing their first whiskeys after 5 years. If the World Whiskey Awards are a source to be trusted then Boann are not doing too badly with their early efforts. They won the 2021 award for “World's Best New Make & Young Spirit”. In the case of this NAS whiskey, Boann have taken non-chill filtered, non-coloured Cooley stock that was previously aged in ex-bourbon casks and then they finished it for at least 9 months in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. What jumps out first is a pleasing mix of aromas: raspberry, blackberry, fresh sawdust, vanilla, a touch of eraser and a hint of cough medicine. The sherry finish is most prominent on the palate with a syrupy klaxon of forest fruit and fig chutney. It holds for a medium length finish that is gently drying, with a tail-whip of spice. This is good. Very good. It is my first sampling of what Boann are offering and, while this isn’t their own distillate, based on their selection and further maturation of the Cooley stock I now trust them sufficiently to pay attention to what else they offer and what they do next. #DAD

Nose: floral scent, smoke but reminds me of burning dry forest brush, a light whiff of chocolate, vegetal funk, spent match sulphur Taste: smoke, woody, salt, grilled grapefruit, menthol, slightly bitter Finish: salty, paracetamol Not a big fan of this. Reminds me of a cross between a Kilchoman Machir Bay and a Ben Nevis 10. But in a "sum is less than the parts" kind of way.

This is like Toy Story 4. Good but not hitting the same heights as before. The problem: too Woody.

Some whiskies are like big, bad wolves – huffing and puffing, frantically trying to flatten your house. Other whiskies are the quietest zephyrs which, nevertheless, blow you to smithereens. Nose: Cream, strawberry mousse, peach, Rich Tea biscuits, toasted grain, hay bale Taste: Sweet mmmmmm arrival, deliciously light, orange and clove, barley sugar, and a hint of rhubarb Finish: Dry, short to medium, lemon drops Masterful simplicity and balance.