We're back after our Christmas break (over which we drank lots of whiskey, visited many whiskey bars all over the world and even visited the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin, Ireland).
We are kicking off the year with a style of whiskey we've not blogged much about before, the original and best (I might be slightly biased) style of whiskey, the Irish Whiskey.
Hailing from Ireland's first craft distillery in Co. Wicklow, is this fantastic whiskey is 4 years old and aged in Sherry and Bourbon barrels and weighs in at a 42% alcohol content.
Glendalough Distillery is a young distillery set up by five friends from Wicklow and Dublin. It is one of few distilleries trying to revive the once booming distilling industry in Ireland.
Their aim is to make innovative spirits while staying true to the tradition and heritage of their ancestors.
They started with the classic Irish spirit poitín (pronounced pot-cheen), before moving on to whiskey and most recently seasonal, wild botanical gins.
This single grain will blast the cobwebs off the Irish whiskey category. A new and unique style of light and floral whiskey distilled in a Coffey still (like whiskey, another great Irish invention!) from a mash bill of Irish malted barley and corn.
It spends three and a half years in American oak first-fill Bourbon barrels before being finished for six months in Spanish Oloroso sherry casks.
The Bourbon barrels impart deep, robust chocolate and caramel notes, while the Oloroso casks lighten the palate with fruitier notes and touches of nutty tones.
With both barrels being oak, you get that beautiful vanilla thread you’d expect to run through an Irish whiskey. Both barrels are porous too, allowing Ireland’s temperate, maritime air through to make its impression.
TASTING NOTES:
The nose is slight but undoubtedly rich with dark fruit; cherry, raisin, fig (with Christmas pudding notes on the nose for those lucky enough to know what that is) along with floral lemongrass and a touch of nutmeg.
The taste is sweet and creamy on the palate, with butterscotch, honey and peppercorn bringing along sweet Bourbon Cask notes with dried fruit returning through notes of maraschino cherries and a pinch of brown sugar.
The finish has lingering notes of ginger spices with a faint glimmer of almond to end a complex Irish Whiskey from start to finish.
TASTING NOTES:
The nose gives a soft, light smell. Smells like sweets from your childhood. Floral fruity flavours coming through too. A subtle hint of vanilla present in the glass afterwards. Some citrus and a bit of spicy cinnamon.
The taste hints at a nutty taste at first which subsides. Super smooth and creamy. Subtle flavours, citrusy and spicy... hints of orange and cinnamon.
The finish gives a vanilla essence appears and disappears very quickly. Very creamy lingering taste.
Smell: 2.75/5 Taste: 3.5/5 Finish: 3/5 Smoothness: 4.5/5 Overall: 4/5
"Very drinkable but not really an experience"
"Not a journey"
"I could so destroy that bottle"
"Doesn't need water to open"
"Great whiskey for non-whiskey drinkers"
"Oh wow, super light, not burny. Very drinkable"
"There is a burn in there but it's being firehosed by a creamy element in the flavour"
"A very good introductory whiskey"