HYDE No. 3 The Áras Cask Bourbon Cask Matured

I tend to steer away from Irish whiskey, I’m not sure why. Even after a visit to the Whisky Museum in Dublin early into my first year of whisky nothing really took me. The opportunity to try six different offerings from a single distillery though seemed like a good opportunity to explore what was possible with a more mature palate and outlook. Enter Hyde. Triple distilled via a traditional ‘Coffey Still’ from pure corn and barley followed by maturation for over 6 years in charred, first fill ex-bourbon casks from Kentucky in the USA. N: Wow, initially I am smacked in the face by a wall of sickly candy sweetness followed by a stiff acetone. This is sitting out for ten minutes before I put it anywhere near my face again. Now the acetone has dissipated the sweet candy corn has also subsided to reveal a sweet vanilla, lightly toasty biscuit, rum and raisin ice cream, and a soft woodiness. Call me crazy but I am convinced I smell roast parsnip too. According to the Hyde website and other reviews there are ‘middle easter spices’ and ‘cinnamon’; I disagree, not a single hint of spice here for me. P: Slightly cloying stickiness with a mouth filling peppercorn vibrancy. Sweetness is main characteristic here, vanilla heavy fructose syrup laden caramel; the kind you would add a squirt to in a caramel latte. Maybe a slight confectioners custard type quality here also. But, honestly, I get nothing else. F: Shot-medium. Slightly malty, but the combination of pepper and sticky sweetness carry over from the palate to mask any kind of finish development. Oh dear. What a disappointing start. Overwhelmingly sweet with no character, progression, or really any redeeming qualities other than the fact it isn’t outright offensive. Grain whisky, done right, I think is great (Nikka Coffeey Grain; hello!). This may as well have been a measure of corn syrup with vanilla extract in it. I don’t actually know how to accurately score this, but it’s definitely not for me. Distiller whisky taste #168 [Wasting one of my favourite rocks on this measure: a fantastic LCT-Pegmatite. This chonky-boi is an igneous rock formed from highly evolved magmas rich in volatiles, fluids and incompatible elements and is a major source of Lithium (the L in LCT). This particular pegmatite features bluish clevlandite, white albite, red tourmaline, dark purple lepidolite, light purple cookite and glassy pollucite. Pollucite is the main ore mineral of caesium (the C in LCT). There is no T (tantalum) in this example. Rock comes from Sinclair in the eastern goldfields of Western Australia] Hyde running scores No. 3 Aras Cask Bourbon: 2/5

Irish whiskey tasting, The Oak Barrel, Sydney, 7 Feb 2019. Whisky #2 Nose: Soft and mildly floral with some light spice aromas (cinnamon?). A warm cereal and malty presence with caramel and oak hints. Very pleasant. Palate: Thin and slightly hard entry. Mild spices develop but overall it seemed anaemic. This is a column distillate of corn mash and I couldn’t help but feel that the stills had been pushed too hard and much of the light character of the wash had been stripped out. The texture, often a strong point of single grain whisky, lacked the requisite silken presence to make it noteworthy. Finish: Short. Very little finish or aftertaste. The nose on this was very enjoyable and had a strangely evocative and nostalgic quality. Very soothing in a country-cottage sort of way, and a touch like bourbon. The palate, however, completely failed to live up to the promise of the nose and was thin and devoid of character, both in terms of flavour profile and texture. Very easy to drink, but lacking any sort of presence. There's nothing actively unpleasant about it but it's just not a very impressive whiskey, and at the price point I'd expect a lot more. The standard Compass Box Hedonism is cheaper than this and completely demolishes it. “Inferior” : 68/100 (1.75 stars)

A complex, Irish Whiskey by Hibernia Distillers in West Cork, Ireland produced from corn & barley grain; distilled 3 times in a Coffey still, then age for 6 years in Ex-Bourbon barrels. It has a bold & aromatic birth with notes of caramel, toasty American oak, clove, cinnamon, toffee & coffee; while a rich & spicy life adds notes of nougat, vanilla, spice, pepper & chili; that leads to a short & delicate death with notes of caramel, ginger, barley & pepper. January 2020 / September 2022

Pale gold colour. N: 20, P: 19, F: 18, B: 18. Unusual whiskey with some weird aromas and taste nuances. Strong piney scent and also fresh cucumber, acetone, dry grass. The taste of pomelo, green pear, physalis and medicine. Alcohol bites in aftertaste.

I have a preference for sherry cask finish. Having said that I like this alot. MOR. Light spice, light sweet from the bourbon. Must be for American palet. A safe choice.

Right away I don’t get much nose on this. Small bits of apple and caramel come through. Strong spice on the tongue probably from the abv. Wood influence is minor.