This wasn’t the final whisky that we tried on the evening, but it is my final review from our time at Weber and Tring’s Irish Whiskey tasting evening. I just felt that this was the peak of the evening and that it wouldn’t have been fair to continue reviewing after this dram. I am a sucker for an interesting story about the heritage of a whisky and am also keen to support people who do interesting things in the search of better product. So, its worth knowing that the name of this whiskey comes from its interesting heritage.
Midleton have used specially created virgin Irish Oak (Dair Ghaelach) barrels as part of their maturation process for this whisky. So they have gone to the extreme trouble of choosing, felling, drying and preparing Irish oak, so that it can be turned into barrels. This meant that tonight we were sampling whisky from tree number 9.
Aroma: Again a dram of two noses, there is the darkness and spice of wood and the sweetness of honeycomb and vanilla.
Taste: This whisky starts with a lightness of touch, sweetness of pineapple and cream of vanilla. These beginning flavours are present for a moment, then there is a building spice, which doesn’t replace these notes, but builds upon them.
This spice is warming, there are really present notes of greenness, like the aroma of freshly stripped bark from a green tree. These add to the dryness and spice, however these wooden, spicy drying notes never over takes the sweetness, so the flvaour clings to the sides of the mouth remaining smooth and moreish.
The final flavour of the whisky is all about the spice. The wood and spice of earlier build to a climax of flavours that are dark, but mellow, spicy but fruity. Here there are notes of chocolate and of cereals.
Mouthfeel: Sweet and drinkable, but increasingly powerful and spicy.
Overall: This whiskey tastes all the better, all the more interesting and all the more different for its elaborate creative process. There is a feel of real care, of real attention to detail and of real class. To me, it is a huge pity that this whiskey has missed out on the praise that it is certainly due. I am already hatching plans of how to raise the funds to buy a bottle.
Aroma: 17
Start: 17
Middle: 17
Finish: 18
Value: 16
Overall 86/100
More Information: Single Pot Still Website
Available: Weber and Trings
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