Waterford Peated Fenniscourt 1.1

On goûte l'orge, vin chaud, épices, fruits tropicaux. Le tout est assez fumée. Finale: Un peu de bois et un peu plus d’épices. C'est bien tourbé, on goûte presque le gazon coupé. C'est excellent en bouche, c'est frais et bien fumée comme je l'aime.

Smell is not great with string alcohol smell in the background. Taste is better but still average. Very average peated whisky

I am not the best fan of Irish whiskey, to date I have tended to find it somewhat lacking in character and presence. Consequently, I have typically steered clear of it, and know little to nothing about it really. A peated Irish whiskey then is something I know nearly literally nothing about. I am perhaps fortunate then to be foraying into peated Irish, thanks to @cascode and his well rated share of this dram. N: Light, crisp. This is slightly mossy, like a damp temperate rain forest. A light acidity and yeastiness is present like gristy bread dough and cheese. A slightly sharp gingery touch and lemony mulch. P: Oily, a little thin at first but building into a medium body. There is a lightly peppery and effervescent quality on the entry that is packed with sweet cereal and malt. Fresh, bright, apples and red berries pass deliciously into drying gentle smoke with a pop of lemon zest. As the palate evolves there is a sticky sweet and sour cola type of thin going on. The bright fresh notes just about fade into a darker woodland again, an undertone of herbal and mineralic smokiness. F: Medium. Brightly fruity and peppery with an equal share of cocoa powder and tannic smoky dryness. I find the nose slightly conflicting. I love moss covered woodlands and the crunch of leaf litter underfoot. I also like the acidity that comes through from a yeasty-malt presence. The apparent youth is found in this acidity, with a cheesy rancor that is just enough to make me stop and pull me out of what I am enjoying. The palate is wonderful, it tells a story almost. From an initial excitement to a bright open summer orchard and then into a deeper foreboding woodland there is depth and progression. This palate is excellently delivered. The finish is just fine and kind of recaps the journey nicely. If this had been the first Irish whisky I had sat and contemplated I think my impressions and attitude overall would have been different. This is a really smashing dram that delivered a lot more than I was setting myself up to expect. I can easily forgive the off-notes I find on the nose for the story telling that the palate dips itself into. The peat here is not equivalent to Scottish or Australian fare, this is an altogether more delicate and vibrant delivery of peat. Thanks again @cascode you spoiled me with this one. Distiller whisky taste #274 [Pictured here with a 305 million year old plate of Alethopteris (seed fern) from the Late Carboniferous of Pennsylvania, USA. This was a time very different from today. Euramerica sat in the tropics and a landscape of humid lowlands and forrested swamps was periodically submerged under shallow seas. Trees 50 m tall were surrounded with seed ferns as a dense undergrowth through the swamps. The Llewellyn formation, also known as the ‘coal measures’ is a world famous coal deposit, also known for its plant fossils. The Llewellyn was deposited upon a broad flat plain with sediment-choked rivers. Fluctuations in sea level, coupled with the shifting nature of the rivers and highlands, allowed dense forests to grow on the broad plain. As a result, a large amount of organic matter was buried and eventually turned to coal.⁠ The anaerobic conditions that prevail in swamps allowed for exceptional preservation of plant material as impressions, biofilms and carbonaceous traces such as those seen here]

Waterford Tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, November 27th 2023, Whisky #5 Nose: Crisp, fresh barley grist, warm herb bread, goat’s cheese, feta, a light cloak of herbal, earthy peat (since writing this I’ve looked at other reviews and many mention rubber notes, but I did not get any hint at all of thiols or sulphides. In fact, I particularly noted their absence). Palate: Sweet and cereal in the arrival with excellent oiliness. Berries and orchard fruits in the background of the later palate and an overall mild, dry smoke presence. It’s an elegant, restrained and relaxed style of peating that I did not expect from a nominal 38ppm level. Finish: Medium/long. Fresh bread, a dusting of pepper. The peat smoke eases gradually into the aftertaste with a gentle return to sweetness. Totally unlike any Islay peated whisky, and not very similar to peated whisky from any other part of Scotland either, but neither is this like any peated Irish whiskey I’ve had. It’s very much its own thing and the more you explore it the more it reveals its Waterford distillate foundation with clean, perfectly produced malted barley distillate at the heart of proceedings. This was part of the Arcadian Series, distilled in 2018 and bottled in 2022 but technically just 3 years of age. Maturation was in virgin American and French oak, with a smaller component aged in vin doux naturel casks. In many ways, this whisky is a peated expression of Waterford’s Knockroe Edition 1.1. A very impressive whisky that exemplifies how delightful young peated whisky can be, and how dull and lifeless many products from the major distilleries have become regardless of (and maybe even because of) greater age. I loved it and bought a bottle on the night. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)