Connemara Turf Mór (Travel Retail Exclusive)

This was in a pile of samples that, of course, came from @PbMichiganWolverine. Well, anyways, a pour of this tonight is what is in store. Take old school bbq charcoal, throw some apples, apricots, pears on top of that grill. Drizzle honey over the fruit. Grill and flip. Throw some cedar chips on the briquettes. Now, lastly, take a fresh orange and squeeze the juice over the grilled, smoked fruit. A sweet and charcoaled fruity aromas. Lightweight and thin, there is a subtle sweetness with razor sharp edges. Once you work past the jaggedness, vanilla, cigar ash, lemon/orange citrus, apples, apricots and pears medley, that were previously grilled, all come through the palate. All the in a burst which slowly, like a fading firework, fade away. The prickly sensation with cigar ash and black pepper fade with a touch of woodiness. The ash remains leaving the palate ashy and charcoaled and mentholated. There is the cleanness that is often found in Irish whiskey. The ash and sweet are nicely balanced, weighted towards the tobacco ashy side. A nice, peated Irish whiskey. Light, elegant and enjoyable. [84/100][Tasted: 3/20/21]

Sample provided by @PBMichiganWolverine. Thanks a bunch! Sample rating: Average +0 I.e. same rating as Glenfiddich 12. For 40 USD, this is 2.5 / 5 stars (not horrible; not worth it). It’s Irish, so I get potatoes. A terroir thing, right? There’s fruitiness, but it’s very young. Like Pruno, if you’ve been to prison… or maybe Pseudomonas aeruginosa, if you’ve taken microbiology. Like freshly fermented apple sauce. The peat is medicinal, like a young Laproaig. A very young one. I don’t mind the nose at all. The palate has some citrus, soot, salt. Like a young Caol Ila. A very young one. Did I mention this is a young one? The finish betrays this whiskey’s immaturity. Any deeper or interesting flavors just abruptly fall off, and you are left with cardboard and ethanol. Or, if you really concentrate: potatoes, vodka, and cigarettes. I.e. Breakfast for champions.

Why is it that a TRE version is generally a poor version of the regular retail version? I had the a sample of the retail Turf Mor years back and liked it enough to go look for that bottle. Unfortunately it was sold out. Batch 2 then came out as a TRE one. Of course, naively I picked it up, thinking it must be just as good. It’s not. Far from it. I recall the original having an almost wood burning aroma to it. This one has a phenolic aroma, supplemented by a wet rope taste on the palette. Not the romanticized version of wet rope that we normally associate with the likes of Islay, but the actual wet rope taste as if you really took wet rope and licked it. Imagine walking up to a docked boat, holding the wet rope, and going at it with your mouth. That’s what this is like. Not quite a 1 star, since this is palatable, but not something I’d ever order or buy again, even it’s close to free. Addendum: I so stand corrected. Last night, the initial sip out of the bottle was horrid. Heat and burnt plastic. But, after letting it sit out for a good 1/2 hour and adding a spoon of water, the flavors really came together. Now I got the burning wood aromas, the sea salt spray, all around a much lighter body than the Islay brethrens. It’s still no Lag, Ardbeg, or Laphroaig...but I paid $40USD for this...at that price, it’s a no brainer. Amazing about face once you let it sit and add some water. Solid 3.5 stars, bumped up a bit for that $40 price tag

Irish whiskey tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 7 Feb 2019. Whisky #6 (This is the new Turf Mór bottling) Nose: Soft smoke with an herbal sweetness. A bonfire of dry leaves mingled with the scent of woodsmoke from a cottage chimney. A tiny, distant hint of iodine, diesel oil and aniseed but it's not a medicinal nose. More like Campbeltown smoke than Islay smoke. Palate: Very soft and sweet arrival. The smoke and cereal flavours are inextricably melded into a pleasant and well-textured whole. Some fruity notes appear as it develops, but the swirl of soft smoke is the dominant feature and the palate is a bit lacking. Finish: Medium/long. The soft sweet smoky profile tails off into a lingering finish. Very nice and to be honest better than I was expecting. The profile is smoky and cereal but with a light dulcet background that is surprisingly successful. The only criticisms I'd make of this are that it is overly shy and soft, a little one-note, pretty obviously callow, and way overpriced. There is probably some subtle complexity going on but even the light aromatic peat used in this whisky (which certainly does not seem like 50ppm) is sufficient to drown everything else. I have the feeling that without the smoky component this would be just plain and thin. I enjoyed it enough to consider buying a bottle for further tasting, but then saw the price which is, IMHO, at least twice as much as it is worth. Originally Turf Mór was released as a 58.2%abv bottling which is now discontinued. It was replaced by this 46% Travel Retail version, which is now being imported directly. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)