Origin: Belfast (Northern Ireland)
Type: Irish Blended Whiskey
Strength: 63.7%ABV
Ageing casks: Virgin, ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry Oloroso and ex-Brandy
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Ireland Craft Beverages Ltd.
Average price: € 105.00
Official website: twostackswhiskey.com
Vote: 88/100
It has been a short time since I tried this young Irish bottler’s basic blended, being literally thunderstruck by its rich, layered nose.
I promised myself I would try the cask strength version, and as luck would have it, I picked one of the many special editions, each with a different ageing process, out of the myriad of samples piled up on my shelves, thanks to 2021 Belfast Whisky Week.
The basic blend is the same as the First Cut and the Blender’s Cut, i.e. 80% Dark and Light Grain in virgin and ex-Bourbon casks respectively, 8% from pot still in ex-Sherry Oloroso, 10% double-distilled malt in ex-Bourbon and 2% peated malt also in ex-Bourbon, but the finishing process changes, taking place for 59 days in a single ex-Brandy apricot cask, i.e. a mixture of apricot stones, fresh apricot juice and brandy.
Only 222 hard-to-find bottles, all cask stregnth, always with distillate from
The Great Northern Distillery and with processing taking place at the Killowen distillery.
Tasting notes
Such a high alcohol content and yet completely absent on the nose, the debut of this blended is under the best auspices! A soft nose with some rough veins in which nutmeg and cloves introduce a chequerboard of both fresh and jammy fruit (bitter orange, apricot, pear, pink lady apple) with alternations of caramel, chestnut honey, toffee, a few drops of coffee. Vegetable notes in the background, fresh wood and some hints of wet leaves. Rich and fruity, the addition of water emphasises the sweet component.
On the palate, the alcohol content reminds its own weight, but once the initial bang has passed, it returns to the ranks to support the various flavours, always declined in fruit with more emphasis on citrus. There is still plenty of nutmeg with the roughness accentuated in leather tones, with some acid peaks of red fruits (raspberries and wild strawberries) and tangerines. Toasted brown sugar, liquorice, touches of aniseed and brushstrokes of caramel complete a layered and full, varied and never boring picture. The addition of water accentuates the vegetal component, partially extinguishing the complexity of the flavours.
The finish is long and warm, of spices, red fruits, citrus, vegetal notes and toffee.
The blended confirms its richness and depth, the cask strength certainly doesn’t help post-drinking as the alcohol, although an integral part of the experience, impacts as predictable in retrospect, but it’s also the necessary shoulder to put olfactory and palate on the same level as the First Cut failed to do. Be brave and try it unadulterated, satisfaction is guaranteed!