Tullamore D.E.W. 14 Year Single Malt

Tullamore 12 was solid. Standard Tully is a solid standard sipper. Then there's this 14-year old, quadruple-cask oak single malt. Sign me up. Nose: Vanilla, powdered sugar, and shortbread cookie. Apple, plum, cranberry, raisin, and clementine. Some lime zest. Cereal notes and caramel. Oak, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. All four casks are well-represented. Nice nose. Palate: Vanilla, honey, shortbread cookie, toffee, and malt. Apple, pear, apricot, lime, and white grape. Caramel and custard notes. Olorosso is represented by the milk chocolate, vanilla frosting, and orange citrus notes. Floral and oak notes. The palate is bourbon oak dominant with some Olorosso representation. Good stuff. Finish: Lime, plum, raisin, cranberry. Vanilla, shortbread cookie, malt, and toffee. There's oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Caramel. Medium length. The four casks are more equally represented here than on the palate. Respectable length for 41.3% ABV. Solid. I've got here a well-rounded Irish whiskey. There isn't anything truly remarkable about this one, other than its consistency and cohesive. The combination of bourbon, port, Olorosso, and madeira cask aging creates a solid whiskey profile. A lot to like here. 3.75. If we compare this to scotch, $70 is about what I'd expect to pay for a solid 14-year old bottle. So this hits the mark for VFM. Another good offering from Tully. I feel that their higher end up products often don't get nearly enough credit; this is yet another feather in their cap.

Short and sweet, just like most Irish drams. Nose: Classic Irish single malt profile (toffee, apple, pear) with strongly evident notes of the sherry and wine cask finish. These really blend well and complement each other as if they were destined to be one. Overall, an excellent and very inviting nose. Of course, as with most Irish, it's virtually gone after only a few minutes, so don't take your time nosing this one. Taste: Just like the nose, this is a splendid mix of classic Irish plus all the different finish they put into this. Tastes great. A very welcome choice of barrels, although the palate is quite thin overall, as expected from a mass market Irish whiskey. Obviously not nearly rich enough for 14 years. Finish: Sweet and dry. It's very thin and completely gone after a few seconds. Where's the oak? Where did the 14 years go? Some much younger malts have a much longer finish. This whiskey has obviously been watered down too hard. Shame. Final thoughts: this is a hallmark example of how Irish whiskey can suffer from triple distillation, plus chill filtration, plus low ABV. The nose is great, but then it just falls apart on the thin palate and virtually non-existent finish. All those wonderful folks in Ireland should really consider bottling their triple distilled whiskey at 46 ABV without chill filtration. Would it really break their bank? Probably not. Would it really make for a better whiskey? Absolutely.

Ah Tullimore Dew might not not have been my first but it was my staple living in Ireland and one of the drops that made me think hey whiskey isn't to bad. I didn't drink it straight that was another decade before I went down that path. I used to take a hip flask into the pub get a pint of water and drop a dram or two in. Yeah I know cheap but hey mid 20s and very little money was my excuse. Also drinking that much water helped stave off hangovers.... the oddities of youth. Anyhow I saw this and the 18 yr samples and thought ah for nostalgia...not that I drank the aged statements. Mine was the bog std stuff. I like this, brown sugar green apples. Usually I don't like the latter but with the oily spiciness it pulls it off. I'd poured this dram b4 I realised the stir fry had ginger and garlic.. usually a match I stay away from but the dram pulled through and maybe it even complimented or perhaps diminished the components I might not usually like...or maybe its the psychology of nostalgia..

Still in Hartford. Ventured into Vaughan’s once more. Tullamore Dew stocked on the shelf. Asked for a neat pour of the Single Malt 14 for a nightcap. The nose is all fruit and sugar. Apricots and bananas in a brown sugar reduction. The typical Irish note of straw. Throw is some tropical coconut and honey. Thin bodied mouthfeel with a gentle sweetness. The palate is all demerara sugar, honey with a some fruitiness/tartness of Granny Smith apples towards the back end. Not much complexity or depth, but works well within itself. A small amount of white pepper spice on the finish with cinnamon apple crumb pie sweetness that rapidly switches gears and returns to the an oaky spiciness, though ever so gentle. Inoffensive, straightforward and undynamic yet enjoyable for its sweet simplicity. [84/100][Tasted: 4/12/18]

A light sniff on the nose generate a wonderful combination of sugary and dry fruits. Citrus, toffee and species running on the side. You can also tell that the sherry notes are slightly deeper close to Dalmore 12's sherry notes but not quite there yet. While the golden liquid flowing down into your month, you immediately notice lignins and tannins from most likely an American Oak started to explode in your month. At the same time you can also taste slight sourness from the other wine cask and it's not too much so it makes it interesting for me. A medium to long finish with some spices, lignins and tannins. Like a dry black tea that bitterness with only a tiny drop of honey. Overall, a good whisky with enough complicity. But personally I just wish the finish was better.

Best Tullamore Ive tasted, and for $70 it should be. Nose is honey and a bit floral. The flavor is all jam and biscuits with that same honey coming through. Finishes with that pot still funk typical of better irish whiskys. Now, heres the dilemma: Tullamore 14 is noticeably better than Tullamore 12...single malt vs a blend and 2 more years will do that. But Tully 12 is also regularly on sale for $42 so it’s really a question of value. This isn’t a knock against the 14 so much as the 12 really delivering a LOT for the price tag. Id definitely buy this again, but unlike the 12, I couldn’t quite see it as a go-to.