Origin: Carlow (Ireland)
Type: Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Strength: 55.2%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Walsh Whiskey
Average price: € 80.00
Official website: walshwhiskey.com
Vote: 83/100
After trying the basic version of this whiskey from the Irish Walsh Whiskey, it’s interesting to be able to get your hands (or lips) on a cask strength bottle, in a limited edition of 4,250.
Resulting from the marriage of single malt and pot still (i.e. whiskey made exclusively from malted barley and whiskey made from malted and unmalted barley with a small percentage of other grain), this is an edition created in 2008 initially labelled as Rare, loosing it in 2013 when it became annual, created from selected ex-Bourbon casks with undeclared ageing.
Cask strength whiskies are not very common in the production of Irish distilled spirits, so much so that when this series was first released it boasted to be the first of its kind for decades, so it becomes particularly intriguing to be able to try one, especially from a classic line and in such an elegant edition.
With none of its own yet, this bottle contains a whiskey from an undisclosed distillery.
Tasting notes
Full gold in the glass.
Initially a little closed on the nose, it soon reveals a gently herbaceous soul, of heather and hay, on which are grafted softer and creamier tones of honey, pear, coconut, unripe banana and Brazil nuts, with spicy veins (aniseed, nutmeg), malt and lemon. Slight acetone note on the length. Alcohol not present.
Creamy and slightly spicy on the palate, with touches of cinnamon and nutmeg, it brings out the warmth of its alcohol content without burning, pushing yellow fruit (peach, apple, banana) accompanied by honey, plenty of lemon, almonds and freshly baked bread. Along the length it becomes more peppery, with an underlying metallic streak.
The finish is quite long and spicy, with dried fruit, citrus, cooked pear and liquorice root.
The high alcohol content disrupts the delicacy of the triple distillation, adding bitterness and harshness to a creamy, compliant whiskey making it fun and unusual. It loses a little on the length, but knows how to entertain by offering a walk on the Dark Side of Irish whiskey.
Reviews of whiskey from Walsh Whiskey in the blog:
The Irishman Small Batch
Writer’s Tears Copper Pot
Writers’ Tears Red Head Chapter 2