Peated Irish whiskey? Sounds interesting enough. I once had the entry level Connemara at a whiskey show. It was toward the end of the night, so I don't have much to report. Fast forward a few years and I thought I'd like to have a bottle. The store was fresh out, but they did have this. I imagine the closest comparison to this will be one of the peated Speysides I've had in the past. Let's test that theory. Nose: Vegetal, earthy, mossy peat. Rubber turf and a hint of iodine. Vanilla, toffee, caramel, and apple. Jelly. Black pepper and baking spice. Lemon and orange. Maybe just a hint of smoke but its more sulfuric if anything. No brine presence. Reminiscent of West Cork Glengariff peat-charred cask but infinitely better. Interesting, Scotch-like nose. Palate: More of the vegetal, earthy peat. Vanilla frosting, honey, caramel, and milk chocolate. Pear, apple, strawberry, lemon, and orange. Cucumber and spearmint. Chestnut and walnut. Black pepper and baking spice. Very nice palate. Finish: Chestnut and walnut. Apple and pear. Lemon and grapefruit. Black pepper and cinnamon. Vanilla and caramel. Rubber turf. Slightly below average length finish. Interesting whiskey. A good one, too. The rubbery and sulfuric notes remind me of the West Cork Glengariff Peat-Charred Cask, despite the latter technically not being peated. The Connemara 12 also avoids the massive shortcomings and obvious youth of the latter. It's fairly well-rounded. The palate is definitely the highlight. It's interesting throughout, though. 12 years in the barrel definitely helps this one, especially since much of the Irish whiskey out there suffers from immaturity. The profile is unique. It noses similar to a peated Speyside, but drinks like a whole different animal. We'll call that a peated Irish whiskey. 40% ABV doesn't hinder this too much because of the peat, but it would definitely benefit from a bump in proof. Interesting stuff, Cooley. 3.5/5.