Murlarkey Heritage Whiskey

Murlarkey is a small, craft distillery just west of Washington, DC in the town of Bristow, VA. They distill spirits with an Irish theme and this is probably their best and most distributed whiskey: Heritage Old Country. It’s also wine cask finished, though it’s not clarified as to which specific type or duration. It’s bottled at 50% ABV and sells here in Virginia for around $45 (750ml). It’s a beautiful, shiny copper and mahogany in the tasting glass, while appearing very oily with big, watery droplets left behind after a spin. The nose begins sharply with a zippy, oak note before settling down quite nicely with an elegant bouquet of wine influence: grapes, raisins and light toffee. There’s a light dill and rye note hanging in the background with a bit of black pepper. The ABV power is completely masked. The palate is quite hot and spicy on the initial sip. Zesty citrus rinds and a striking note of dill shock the tongue before relenting to more sweet, wine cask notes. It’s quite rich with a medium mouth coat that reveals the slight rye pepper spices after mid sip. This whiskey bounces from a traditional rye to a corn-forward bourbon with heavy wine cask notes with ease. Where you would think this would be ultimately unbalanced, it actually finds a groove and dances around until you chase it away. The heat plays the only steady role, even into the finish. Speaking of which, it’s medium to long, with the rye and pepper taking the predominant roll, but that wine cask isn’t finished just yet, and lingers on. Ultimately, this is a fine Virginia whiskey. I believe I’d take this over the Virginia Distillery Co’s port finished and the Bowman’s port. It certainly beats both on the price point, as well- by $5-10. It’s relatively easy to find here in the state too, although I’m not sure what kind of distribution they have outside of Virginia. 3.75, maybe even 4, stars. Cheers.