Origin: Ireland
Type: Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Strength: 46.6%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Dream Whisky
Average price: € 75.00
Official website: whiskeymatthew.com
Vote: 83/100
It seems like ages since that 2019 when I first met Marco Maltagliati at the Milano Whisky Festival, where he presented the first two creatures of the Dream Whisky project, Dream N°1 and Dream N°2.
Together with Federico Mazzieri, in five years they have followed new paths, focusing first on bottlings of Scottish single malts and grains, creating a meeting place in Milan (the Dream House), then moving on to US whiskies and finally landing in Ireland, always concentrating more on the evocations of the distillate than on technical details.
And now the new step with the Matthew project (in honour of Marco’s son), a selection of whiskies divided into collections, combining Irish craftsmanship with Italian taste, aiming to their own on-site ageing warehouse and then a distillery with which to crown their dream, moving from bottlers to full producers.
And here is the first bottle, whose name evokes a convivial and warm environment near the fireplace, which wants to create (in their words) a bridge between Scotch and Irish whiskey, with the fresh and fruity side of Ireland joining the structured and slightly peated side of Scotland, coming from an undeclared distillery with ageing between three and six years in ex bourbon first-fill casks (peated and not) and ex sherry.
Tasting notes
And it’s decidedly fruit that dominates the nose, including pineapple, lychee, currant and apricot with a lactic and mineral part that permeates the aromas, hints of almond (at times orzata) and honey. A light background roast, reminiscent of coffee more than peat, completes a rather fresh and at the same time caressing picture.
The mouthfeel brings smoke to the fore, gentle and enveloping, true to the bottle’s name, with a light spicy touch of black pepper, cloves and aniseed. But it’s still the sweeter nature of the whiskey that dominates the palate, moving to tones of milk chocolate, coffee liqueur, sesame crunch and red fruits, with an aftertaste of leather, almonds and chestnut honey. The smoke tends to thin out over time without ever disappearing, becoming a discreet and distant presence.
Quite long finish of dull chimney, almonds, leather, red fruits and a slight vegetal inflection.
A whiskey with a decidedly apt name, and credit must be given to Federico and Marco for being able to create exactly the promised evocations. Young but already with its own complexity and richness, certainly perfect for mixology but enjoyable also neat.