Origin: Wicklow (Ireland)
Type: Blended Irish Whiskey
Strength: 43%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and virgin
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: The Powerscourt Distillery
Average price: € 40.00
Official website: powerscourtdistillery.com
Vote: 83/100
Four years after its foundation, the Powerscourt Irish distillery has finally been able to bottle its own whiskey, choosing to blend it in equal proportions of single malt (of their porduction, matured in ex-Bourbon first fill casks) and grains (sourced from third parties, matured in ex-Bourbon and heavily charred virgin casks). The supervision is no longer that of Noel Sweeney, but new curator Paul Corbett reaps the first fruits here, putting his own signature as blender.
Billed as a small batch (which, as is well known, means everything and nothing), it therefore contains the first whiskey distilled in County Wicklow for over a century, with the name dedicated to the waterfalls that can be seen in the park around the distillery.
The graphic style is markedly different from other bottlings so far made entirely from third party liquid, I hope that when they bottle their single malt the name on the label will also change, in a sign of that transparency that seems not to be very common in Ireland.
Tasting notes
The nose is greeted by a cloud of cinnamon, nutmeg and apples, on top of which lie aromas of almonds, malt biscuits, honey and hay. Very classic and pleasant, with a nice balance between the warmth of the single malt and the herbaceousness of the grains, whose typical acetone note emerges slightly on the length.
On the palate it pushes more on the spices, where pepper and ginger lift the nutmeg volume on a good oiliness in which the herbaceous component stands out more without being overpowering, thanks to soft notes of caramel, malt, white fruit, icing sugar and a slight impression of coffee.
Not very long finish of spices, apples, vanilla, sugar paste.
A simple and straightforward blended, without rough edges, a smooth dram that demonstrates the wisdom required even in simplicity. Certainly not unmissable, but a good viaticum for the future.