Connemara Original Peated Single Malt

I’ve had a vary hard time locating a bottle of this in Texas. After finding it at my favorite local whisky bar, I’m ok with not buying a full bottle. That being said, it’s still a quality pour, just a little too one note to justify dropping $50 for a full bottle. The nose (as expected) is full of peaty glory. Not the briny, coastal type you’d see from Ardbeg or Talisker, but a warmer, more floral type of peat. Similar to the peated Balvenie. A lovely nose! Unfortunately, the taste doesn’t keep up with the nose. I felt like this malt was a one trick pony. The palate is pleasant enough, with the expected smooth and buttery Irish taste,but lacks depth. The finish is disappointingly short. It almost feels like they peated the malt to cover up the thin taste. As far as Irish single malts go, there are far better options, such as Knappogue Castle, Teeling, or even Bushmills. I’ll tack on an extra .5 for the lovely peated nose, but this dram did t quite live up to expectations.

Smokey smooth