Origin: Wicklow (Ireland)
Type: Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, Japanese virgin and first fill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Glendalough Distillery
Average price: € 85.00
Official website: www.glendaloughdistillery.com
Vote: 86/100
Back in the early days of this blog, we sang the praises of the 13-year-old from Glendalough, finished in casks made from Japanese wood, whose complexity and richness has found few equals since.
At the end of February this year the distillery tried it again, producing this seven year old finished in virgin Mizunara casks, alongside a similar maturation but finished in ex-Porter casks.
Mizunara wood is very difficult to work with and, according to co-founder Donal O’Gallachoir, “should never be used to make casks”, yet thanks to an agreement with a Japanese cooperage, the distillery has secured several, planning to produce a couple of bottlings a year that have benefited from this very special wood.
Seven years in ex-Bourbon casks, followed by four months in Mizunara casks, 70% virgin and 30% previously used to mature Glendalough whiskey.
The decoration that adorns the neck of the bottle is a reference to the “red thread of destiny”, a popular Japanese legend according to which each of us from birth is linked to our soulmate by an invisible red thread.
Tasting notes
On the nose the scent of malt is quite intense, tinged with acidulous hints of red fruits (blueberries, raspberries) and tropical fruits (coconut, lychee) with plums, sultanas, marzipan and sesame seeds. The spicy section offers nutmeg and turmeric, while caramel notes alternate with herbaceous, almost vegetable hints (fennel, cucumber). Definitely bizarre.
On the palate, the impression is that of a sherried bomb: ripe red fruits such as sour cherries, blackberries and blueberries flood the mouth along with prunes, dates and cinnamon, with leather and coffee in the background. Chocolate and liquorice stitching on a very dense texture with a certain dryness in the long run.
The finish is quite long and dry, with red fruits, chocolate, cinnamon, vegetable notes and leather.
As already mentioned for the 13 year old, the Mizunara casks add depth and complexity to the distillate, making it iridescent and multifaceted, especially in the olfactory phase, while on the palate it seems to flatten out on more familiar but unexpected paths. Perhaps it’s a sin of youth, because even in the mouth you can perceive the potential of the unexpressed. In any case, it doesn’t leave you umoved.