Egan's Fortitude Single Malt

This is another sample received from the Celtic Whiskey Club and on the face of it, Egan’s Fortitude single malt should have a lot going for it: ✅ Non-chillfiltered ✅ 46% ABV ✅ Full maturation in Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks The nose started off well enough with a pleasing smell of Cadbury’s fruit & nut chocolate and Christmas mince pies. However, I found the palate was hot and spirity and seemed to betray a rather young distillate and the sherry maturation delivered a dry, musty, tannic taste. The finish continued the hot and tannic theme, with pepper, strong tea, and nut being the flavours that were most prominent for me. Overall it was pretty unremarkable, bordering on not nice. There was something harsh and young about it, and the full maturation in PX seemed a vain attempt to knock the edges of it rather than a thoughtful means of achieving balance or complexity.

Nose: Sweet, honey, raisins, cheap powdered chocolate, marzipan. Strange 'eggy' sulphur and baby sick note. Palate: 'Hot', sweet. sherried, chocolate, dried fruit. There is a sourness that sits behind the very sweet upfront sherry notes. Finish: Medium short finish. Sweet, cocoa, dried cooking chocolate powder. Wisps of smoke. This is a step away from a standard Irish whiskey. There are layers of fruit and cocoa from the PX cask, but this really highlights rather than masks what is quite a rough spirit. Fairly rough and quite hot - a pub whiskey at best.

Nose is some chocolate and some oak. Palette has a little bit of chocolate, maybe some spiciness/maltiness/woody with some dark fruit flavor in between, maybe some plum . Finish is a slightly harsh burn that lingers for a little bit. Not sure why this has such a poor rating, I think it's pretty good. It's a little different than other Irish whisky's I've had.

Chocolate Eclair on the nose and taste. Different flavor than any other Irish I’ve tried. Splash knocks the heat off a tad, but it doesn’t open it; I think it takes from it. An ice cube would pair well.

Add a splash of water and let it breathe for a few minutes. It calms it down. From start to finish it’s a chocolate mousse. Long after taste. Never had anything like it. That makes it more appealing.

Not sure on this one, massive sherry on the nose, but doesn't smell like a quality px cask. Nice but slightly medicinal. Mostly get dry sherry notes. Some chocolate, but not an overly complex whiskey.