Origin: Wexford (Ireland)
Type: Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Strength: 50%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon First Fill, virgin, ex-Wine
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Waterford Distillery
Average price: € 75.00
Official website: waterfordwhisky.com
Vote: 81/100
Another bottling in the Single Farm Origin series, the second from Ratheadon Farm.
In the hands of Stephen McDonnell and his son Andrew, the barley crops are located near the banks of the River Barrow, on particularly rich and fertile land that has been managed by the family for over fifty years.
The fruit of the 2015 harvest, this limited edition of 10,000 bottles was released in the second half of 2020, having matured in the usual combination of virgin casks, ex-Bourbon and ex-French Vin Doux Naturel.
Tasting notes
Full gold in the glass.
New make’s cereal and herbaceous hints flood the nose, with touches of lavender and peeled almonds. Fresh and light, it expresses tones of green apple, unripe banana, pineapple, honey and lemon juice. Rather simple and linear, it shows all its youthfulness without smears or peaks of excellence.
The new make essence is even more decisive on the palate, making it appear much younger than it is, with a bold pepper and ginger note on pressing herbaceous and floral tones with unripe fruit (apples, pears, bananas), malt (and yeast), honey and lemon again.
Not very long finish of malt, green apple, pineapple, slight metallic note.
One thing has to be said about these Single Farms: with the same maturity, no two are alike! And this is perhaps the empirical demonstration of how the study carried out by Waterford has a solid and interesting basis.
This version has a strong personality, a young one, too much for my taste, with edges and smears that with a few more years could become strengths.