Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey

Tastes like a young bourbon. Sharp, and sweet

NOSE Ashy peat smoke, caramel, roasted malt, herbal spice, and a bit of rubber Has a nice bit of depth to it and delivers a soft boldly peated aroma. PALATE Ashy peat smoke, burnt caramel, roasted fruit, baking spice, and some rubber and cocoa. Digging the palate more than the aroma, it has a unique delivery for Irish. FINISH Med-Long -> Ashy/smoky, cocoa, orange peels, and burnt caramel.

N: Dry, smoky, and mulchy. This is vaguely reminiscent of grandmas musty hosiery draw laden in dust and aged mothballs. To be honest, I find this horribly unpleasant. P: OK, how we transition from a gnarly nose to a really fun palate is beyond me, but I’m not going to say no to that! Salty (as in baked goods rather than brines), bitter cocoa, tobacco and drying oakiness. Vanilla cream blends it all together. Good stuff. F: Medium. Nutty and drying with a rounding smoke. I’ve never really been a fan of Irish Whisky. I always find them underwhelming. Not bad, but just, well; meh. Once I got past the nose on this, which I found gnarly and unpleasant, the whisky was quite tasty. Enjoyable flavours, interesting peat smoke and a good balance. Novel and enjoyable. But damn, that nose is nasty. Distiller whisky taste #81

SILKIE DARK PEATED IRISH WHISKY (92PROOF/NCF) NOSE: About what you would guess a Peated Irish to smell like. Peat leads off with Rubber & Last Night's Campfire. Followed by Crisp Green Apple, Leather, Mint, Salted Butter, Glazed Lemon Filled Donut, Allspice, and light Florals. I feel like some time spent with this could suss out all manner of notes. The Empty Glass noses like a Cupcake topped with a dollop of Vick's Vaporub. NEAT: Oh, this is good. Silky Smooth Oily Mouthfeel yields Powdered Sugar Dusted Lemon Squares, Vanilla, and Bubblegum accompanied by Sweet Smoke on the front of the Tongue. Leather, Cereal Grains, and Light Oak Tannins show up Mid-Palate. They mesh very well with the sweeter notes up front for a delicious melding of flavors. The Back of the Tongue gets Black Pepper and Rubbery Peat before a Medium Length Finish. Gets Dinged a tad by an Artificial Sweetener type Bitter/Sour Note that hangs around the perimeter*. Not a deal breaker, but something I get from several Irish offerings. The mouth is coated in a lovely aftertaste of Ash, New Rubber Tire, and those Neon Yellow Hunt's Lemon Pudding Cups. There's also a nice layering Black Pepper Tingle on the tongue and cheeks. I know this is one I'll taste long after the dram is done and I love that. *After some time, either the sourness dissipates, or my palate just becomes accustomed to it and it becomes a non-issue. SPLASH: A little water and Lemon Pith becomes prominent on the Nose. The Palate loses some of the rough edges and also becomes more Lemony. Good either way, but preferable Neat. VERDICT: A Peated Irish had been on my bucket list for a while and I happened to stumble on this on at my local, fittingly at the end of March. I found this VERY Good, especially given its $44 price tag. Bonus points for the higher than the normal Irish proof and NCF which allow the Oily/Silky nature of the whisky to shine. Completely different (thank you @DjangoJohnson for helping me lock down that new tire note), but equally enjoyable to the best Irish that I've had. I am definitely going to try the standard lightly peated version as well.