Wow, this whisky is special. It consists of single pot still spirits aged from 12 to 23 years in ex-bourbon casks then finished in virgin Irish oak (19 months) felled in the Bluebell forest of County Kilkenny at 130 years of age (Tree No. 4). The wood is dried and coopered in Jerez, Spain then sent back to Ireland for filling. It’s bottled at a cask strength ABV of 56.2% and comes at you headfirst like a fire breathing dragon. It’s rich amber in color suggesting sherry aging, and guess what? It also smells and tastes a bit like sherry aged whisky. I had to scour the literature to assure there were no sherry components mentioned. An exceedingly splendid nose is dominated by unique Irish oak swirling in a rich cloud of ethanol, and accompanied by sweet vanilla, nutty chocolate, and a measure of spice. Tasting is initially smooth and succulent, but if drank too quickly the virgin oak tannins will strip away whatever protective coating your taste buds can muster and introduce you to a good dose of astringency and alcoholic burn. Taking your time or adding water will tame the dragon and make for a most pleasant experience. The palate is very much like the nose adding stone fruits and peppery effervescence that fade into the finish. Here the signature oaken tannins proclaim their heritage, and leave you huddled in a warm, lengthy afterglow. The laser etched oak packaging features craftsmanship comparable to the Macallan Lalique series and makes for a handsome keepsake. This whisky checks all the boxes and I rate it at 5 stars. Please keep in mind, I may be slightly biased by a beautiful country, friendly people, and incredible golf courses we will soon be visiting. :)
About this bottle
This bottling marks the second edition of the Dair Ghaelach (Gaelic for "Irish Oak") series following the Grinsell's Wood collection. The wood used to create the Irish oak barrels used here hail from trees in the Bluebell Forest located on Castle Blunden Estate in Co. Kilkenny. Six 130 year-old trees were harvested in May 2015 and made into staves which air dried for 15 months. From these staves, 29 Irish oak hogshead casks were created and given a light toast. To create this release, single pot still whiskeys ranging in age from 12-23 years old which matured primarily in American oak ex-bourbon barrels were selected. This whiskey then finished aging in these virgin Irish oak hogsheads for a year and a half. The whiskey is non chill-filtered and its ABV ranges from 55.3-56.3%. The batch, tree, and bottle number will be listed on each bottle. Available beginning November 2017.
Reviews
Showing the most detailed of 12 parsed reviews.
WhiskeyLive Dublin 2018 Tasted this for the second successive year at this event and it is a gem of a whiskey. For the ABV it is incredibly smooth and drinkable. At the Midleton stand it was the standout among Redbreast 21, Very Rare 2018, and Red Spot. Unfortunately I did not record the tree number of the bottle. The number represents the particular Irish oak used for the finishing barrels and apparently you can visit the estate and sip your spirit while sitting on the tree stump. An expensive picnic because a bottle will set you back €300.
Nose - Pot Still spices enhanced by Irish Oak. Vanilla, Chocolate, Honey, Coffee. Rich ripe fruit. Taste - Typical Pot Still spices - clove and cinnamon - sweet chocolate and apple Finish - exceptionally long. Sweet spices and Irish oak The whiskey does not have an age - but has been matured between 15 and 22 years. I managed to get 3 bottles - the 2 that’s left Cask is bottle 177, Tree 4, batch 1 and bottle 289, Tree 7, batch 1. Master Distiller Brian Norton. (credit to published reviews - on which I built mine)
Super rich. Even better than Grinsell’s Wood. Tried Tree 2. Compared to Grinsell’s Wood, this has more spicy, cinnamon, chocolate, grapefruit, and honey notes alongside the vanilla, caramel, banana, floral, and coconut notes of Grinsell’s Wood. Can definitely sense more Irish oak influence here considering it spent more time in Irish oak than the Grinsell’s Wood
Such a great experience - for those of you that don't believe Irish Whiskey can be bold and full flavored - try this (if you can find it). Vanilla, chocolate, and coffee with a finish of clove, apple, cinnamon and ripe fruit. The finish is the longest I have gotten on an Irish whiskey due to the high proof.
Nov 2017 Second whiskey tasted at WhiskeyLive in Dublin. 4.5 overall. Perhaps not as good as the Barry Crockett, which I've had several leisurely tastes of, but better than the Very Rare 2017 which I also tasted at WhiskeyLive.
6 more reviews were collected for this bottle. The longest ones are shown first.
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