Today is St Patrick’s Day and if you are a regular user of any kind of social media in the UK you will be very much aware of this fact. Since I got a very interesting and exclusive sample of an Irish single malt recently it seems like the perfect time to make a review article on it.
This is a sample from the twitter tasting done in conjunction with WhiskyWire and The Boutique-y Whisky Company. I enjoy these kind of events because it is an opportunity to get together with more experienced whisky drinkers and compare what you smell and taste against their wisdom. The hashtag used on the night was #boutiqueyWhisky if you want to go and check out all the tweets made during the night. We were actually trending in the UK with so many tasters involved.
This 24 year old cask comes from a time when the Irish whisky industry was in pretty bad shape. The number of distilleries was down to only three and only one of those had been around before the 1970’s. Multiple different brands were being produced from these same distilleries as the industry was on life support basically.
Today though there is strong growth in the country. With growth of whisky internationally and Scotland being arguably a congested market which makes standing out difficult Ireland is a good prospect for investment. There is currently sixteen distilleries actively producing spirit including Waterford distillery using the stills from the Inverleven distillery which also used to sit outside Bruichladdich distillery. There is additionally another fourteen going through the planning stages.
The Dram
This is a cask strength whisky with no artificial colouring or adulterating as with all releases from this bottler. The natural strength is 46.8% and it was for sale on the Master of Malt website for £124.95 for a 50cl bottle. This is a pretty substantial investment although this is pretty substantially aged whisky. Either way the point is mute since they are all sold out. If you are interested in these bottles with their high quality artwork and of course whisky the current range can be found at the Master of Malt Website
Tasting Notes
Colour – lemon juice
Nose – a very spirit y and vibrant nose not what I was expecting from a whisky this old. Lots of cooking apples and citric fruits
Palate – Without water the arrival on the palate is ripe exotic fruits but it develops around the corners of your mouth into something more bitter. With water, it takes water well, the ripe and vibrant fruit qualities extend into the development rather than being overloaded with the bitter qualities of before.
Finish – The finish without water continues the bitter from the palate and bursts very strongly into breakfast grapefruit with a sprinkling of sugar. With water the grapefruit makes way for bitter lemons
Final Thoughts
All the samples from the tasting I enjoyed greatly. This one was the one I enjoyed the least however. Through the 24 years of maturation this whisky has not lost its Irish character and that intense grapefruit finish is weirdly addictive.
Throughout the next four reviews from this tasting I will add more information on the Boutique-y Whisky Company and their brand. All the whiskies from them I have ever tried are on this site and all have been quality products. They have all been quite unorthodox and bizarre flavour profiles but that is their charm and selling point.
Malted 