Origin: East Ireland
Type: Irish Premium Blended Whiskey
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Virgin and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added colouring: Yes
Owner: Baha Whiskey Ltd
Average price: € 65.00
Official website: www.bahawhiskey.ie
Vote: 79/100
Born in late 2020, Baha is one of the latest companies to join the Irish new wave, presenting itself as a blender and not a distillery.
Information is very scarce, as is their portfolio of only two bottlings: the present and Tara Blend, with the names clearly referring to the Celtic whiskey matrix.
The particularity of these blends is the initial maturation in virgin casks for the three years necessary to define the distillate as a whiskey, distinguished by the subsequent ageing, whose provenance is referred to generically as ‘from the east of Ireland’, which could perhaps indicate Bushmills.
For this Founder’s Reserve, the virgin casks were followed by just over a year of ageing in unspecified former Sherry casks.
Tasting notes
Young is young, on the nose the notes offered by the virgin casks are very present, veined with a thread of acetone that fades slightly with time. Freshly cut wood, hay, nutmeg and cinnamon emerge first, joined shortly by sultanas, brown sugar, maple syrup and almonds. Simple and spicy.
Light and silky, on the palate, it’s still the spicy side that dominates with the addition of a hint of ginger, grafted onto softer tones of caramel, coffee, nuts, chocolate, tobacco and a faint balsamic note. Acetone returns, in the background.
Medium-long finish of nuts, spices, brown sugar, aniseed.
Youth certainly doesn’t offer much depth to a rather drinkable and pleasant whiskey, the choice of initial maturation in virgin casks gives that extra touch of personality which, however, is a little too pronounced. It is appreciable to have chosen a few degrees more than the minimum, which certainly helped.