Tullamore D.E.W. 18 Year Single Malt

Visual: Medium amber/gold color. Nice, languid legs. Nose: Right out of the bottle and into the glass, the first impression is milk chocolate. Later, some vanilla develops, along with raspberry, blackberry, and other dark fruits. I’m used to Irish whiskies being somewhat “light” (the Tullamore D.E.W. 10-year single malt certainly is), but this is much darker in character – and sweeter – on the nose than expected. The combination of bourbon, oloroso, port, and sherry cask maturation seems to have worked a bit of olfactory magic. The aroma says dessert. Palate: At the outset, it is much less sweet than the nose, although there is a bit of honey. Mid-palate, the milk chocolate from the nose joins in, along with caramel and the expected cereal grains. A little dark chocolate on the pre-finish. Finish: The medium length finish is nicely dry, with a bit of dark chocolate and oak tannin. There is a nice lingering warmth. Empty glass: Toffee and pecans. Nice whiskey, especially for chocolate fans. Unfortunately, checking prices on-line, it appears to be hard to get around these parts, and a little pricey (this tasting was from a 30-mL sample). There are single malt scotches I would rather have for the same money or less (Lagavulin 16, anyone?). Still, it is nice. Worthy of 4 stars just on the nose alone.

This is a very limited edition of Tullamore Dew. Bottled at 18 years old, this triple distilled single malt was matured in ex Bourbon casks for up to 18 years and then has been finished in 4 different cask types being old Oloroso ex-Sherry Butts, Ex-Port Pipes and ex Madeira Drums casks for at least 6 months. Less than 2,500 bottles have been made. Nose - Rich and oaky with deep malty notes, caramelised fruit and woody spice. Taste - Velvety smooth and mellow vanilla oak notes intertwined with cinnamon, baked apple, toasted marshmallows and biscuit sweetness. Ginger Ale, Coconut Water, Soda, Green Tea - not Cola. Finish - Rich and warming with a lingering malty sweetness (credit to published reviews - on which I built mine)

I think I've set a new record in the time it's taking me to drink two drams... several hours. to be fair I was attempting to rearrange the kids bedrooms and build flat pack furniture and I think drinking alcohol itself definitely slow things down as there was a fair bit of rework in the flat pack building... a good hours worth I think. it was definitely the latest bedtime the kids have had for a while. I found this one so so, and I think I preferred it's 14 year old brother. you do get the heavier wooden influence here , burnt caramel and other aspects coming through but I preferred the freshness and vibrancy of the 14 year in comparison to this. I think by the end I was too tired to even finish it off before I went to bed.

91.5/100* *I rank my whiskey based on a 100 point scale. It is a cumulative score with each category of nose, taste, finish, and balance worth up to 25 points. Here is how this score translates to the number of stars I give: 0 stars = 50 or below 1 star = 60 2 stars = 70 3 stars = 80 4 stars = 90 5 stars = 100 The score is rounded to the closest 1/4 star increment.

Nose: apples and pears, a bit of honey. Very pleasant, but not particularly complex. Palate: fruit forward, apples and orchard fruit. Very sweet. Honey. Some baking spices. Finish: medium length, more fruit and baking spices. Not a lot of alcohol burn.

WhiskeyLive 2019 Saturday. Great chat with the Tullamore rep at their stand. Very nice whiskey too. Based on a side by side tasting it only slightly shades the 14yo which is a favourite of mine..