Writers' Tears Double Oak

We're coming full circle here on this last tasting for St. Patrick's Day 2025. Boxty Pancakes with Mushrooms and Cabbage has been consumed. I've reviewed Method and Madness Garryana Oak and Teeling Single Malt Red Wine Cask, and now, I'm finishing the night with Writers' Tears Double Oak. My first review ever on Distiller here was Writers' Tears Copper Pot, and I gave it a lukewarm reception, though I can't be bothered to look at what my rating was. Still, I remember what my opinion was: better than Jameson and Tully, but not enough to, at the time, charge double the price. I had a bottle of Double Oak before that, too, and I knew the Double Oak was better, but they were charging $45 or so and I thought that was too much. How times have changed! Double Oak is now going for $60, though this month, it's on clearance and back down to $45, which in today's market feels like a steal. Because this is certainly not a bad whiskey at all. And $45 feels right. The two oaks involved are bourbon casks and cognac casks, and I do enjoy a good cognac finish. What we talk about when we talk about cognac finished whiskies is always to me golden raisins. It's the first thing that pops to mind when we're talking cognac finish. It's on the nose, on the palate, all over the dram. With this, there's also honeysuckle aroma, which I feel like is splitting the difference between the bourbon influence and the cognac as well as mandarin orange. There's something about the scent too that reminds me of a woman's floral shampoo, a sort of fresh edge to the honeysuckle that reminds you of fresh washed sheets on a warm summer day, a lovely laundry detergent. The palate carries over that lemon detergent flavor, though I wouldn't compare it to drinking detergent, which would be disgusting. The lemon mingles with a vanilla flavor that's quite pleasant as well as those golden raisins coming back. There's not a great deal of complexity beyond that, maybe a hint of ginger on the back end as it transitions into the finish. But what it does, it does well. Maybe not $62 well, which was what this cost at full price after 5 years of inflation or so (I think maybe I bought this after it appeared on the Whisky Advocate Top 20 in....let me Google...2019. It appears as #10, so now it's almost 6 years), but it's certainly worth $45 now (though $45 felt steep then, but I was in...well, the same tax bracket actually, I'm just higher in that bracket now, but to put it in context, Old Ezra 7 appeared at #7 and cost #40 and is now $80). Ah the good ol' days when whisky was affordable. Honestly, I have no idea where I'm going with this other than it's been a rough fah-king decade so far, a topsy turvy world, and Writers Tears is a decent whisky that like a lot of other distilleries is maybe feeling itself a bit too much and overrating how much we're willing to spend on their whiskies, which may be why I found this on clearance in the first place. Of the whiskies I've tasted tonight, I'm reviewing this third and it's third in my heart and estimate. Which is not to say avoid it. Just make sure you're paying what it's worth. So yeah, after 179 reviews, I'm not much further than where I was at #1 with their Copper Pot. Relatively easy to drink, but certainly not an Irish heavyweight. Conor McGregor, this is not.

Writers Tears, in any of its permutations, will always make me smile. This is partially because it's worthwhile to drink, but plenty of it comes down to St. Patrick's Day 2017. I had an almost-three month old at the time, and my wife (who was still in residency) was working an overnight at the hospital. Said baby's godparents were having people over for the holiday, so I decided it was worth bundling the little one up against the chilly Chicago late winter air to venture our way out for Irish stew, soda bread, and very generous pours of whiskey. Not wanting to come empty handed, I brought a bottle of the Writers Tears Copper Pot (the only one available stateside at that point, at least by me). It was gone by the end of the evening, as was the Redbreast 15 that the godmother's mom, incidentally the Presiding Bishop of my denomination, had brought over. And what an evening - good food, better whiskey, and the best friends, up chatting until the wee hours while my little one peacefully slept in her carrier...it couldn't have been better. Good memories aside, this sister bottle of Writers Tears has plenty enough to commend itself. A blend of single malt and single pot still whiskies, it's matured in bourbon and cognac barrels, and the influence of both is easy enough to find, though the cognac barrel inflection stands out the most. There is a mildly citrusy, very sweet note on the nose that reminds me of Circus Peanut candies that I only ever get from cognac barrel aging. The American oak comes through with a whiff of sweet coconut and spice. The spirit itself shines through, though, with lemon zest, frosted cereal, apple, pear, almond, and toasty wheat. The palate is round, rich, and oily in that delightful single pot still way, with sweet fruit leading the charge and drier, spicier notes toward the finish, which is medium length and drier than I expected, but still marked by that cognac barrel quality, which comes out to play just when you think it's all over. Revelatory? Maybe not. The best value ever? Maybe not, but it's fairly priced enough. Delicious, easy-to-drink whiskey? I think so, in that friendly, charmingly subtle way that good Irish whiskey excels at capturing. It's like "Linger" by The Cranberries in a glass...you may not want to listen to it all the time, but it's hard not to like it for what it is.

Nose - Shortbread cookies, berries, cinnamon and other baking spices, a hint of oak/vanilla, and cooking fruits (apples/pears). Palate - Full-bodied and incredibly rich. Cereal and graham crackers, dark berries, milk chocolate, toffee, cinnamon spice, and pepper. Finish - Long-lasting. Coats your tongue and is not overly harsh. Excellent combination of complex flavors. I enjoyed Irish Tears' Copper Pot, but I felt that with a name like "Writers' Tears", there should be drama. It should be something complex enough to warrant the name. I found Copper Pot's smell underwhelming. The flavors were good but almost overly-sweet and vanished quickly. Looking at Double Oak side by side with Copper Pot, Double Oak is much darker in color and looks more like Green Spot. Double Oak also comes in a higher ABV at 46% (non-chill filtered) instead of Copper Pot's 40%. Some of my favorite whiskies are experimental whiskies finished in different barrels, so between the finishing and higher proof I was very earger to try this one out. The good news is that Writers' Tears Double Oak delivers on all 3 criteria with more of everything. It has an intriguing aroma. Where Copper Pot smelled like green apples and malt, Double Oak is reminiscent of freshly baked apple pie with all of the notes of sugar, browned pie crust, baked apples, and cinnamon. On the palate, Double Oak is packed with interesting flavors that sit in harmony without being overly sweet. The flavors also coat your mouth and stay with you for much longer on the finish. I was not expecting enough changes to justify the price gap between Copper Pot and Double Oak, but I was pleasantly surprised. Like Teeling, this is another interesting twist on standard Irish whiskey and I like it.

This new generation Irish whisky is a nice example of the new Irish generation who willing to make excellent spirit. After the first sip you can fell that they are on the right track but this one is a realm good one but not excellent (…ok though not in this price category:)) This is a “bland” of single spot still and pure malt made by the distillery so for me this isn’t a blended whisky. And you can feel that this isn’t a blended one. Nice colour, sweet fruity, “clean” spirits feeling on the nose. On the palate it is really smooth, but less fruity that you can expect on the base of the first impression but to cognac cask and the pot still part of the bland makes the twist:) The the finish length is average, but the the Irish triple distillation smoothness are dominating here, leaving a very nice balanced impression on your tongue.

My bottling is from 2019. Nose was very inviting. It's a lot like their Copper Pot, but has more depth and a nice hint of the cognac barrel. Palette is a mixed bag. Doesn't feel well balanced. It's moderately smooth, but feels like too much caramel and then some of the spicy notes really edge out the whiskey flavours. Too much oak as well. Finish was somewhat odd with both a sour and a bitter taste to it. That's probably from old cognac barrels. Adding water really helped this open up and made it feel more balanced. The whiskey notes moved to the forefront and gradually transitioned into the cognac barrel hints towards the end. Finish also got better, but remained too short for its 46 abv. I was not very impressed with this release overall. Their Copper Pot is a better whiskey for its price. Double Oak seems overrated.

Writer's Tears. Somehow both the coolest and dumbest name for a whiskey that I've come across so far. Insane Irish... (smart enough to get a dagger past your guards...old man). Let's dive in and have a little cry. Nose is ripe peaches, brandy and light oak. Punchy on the palate with some heat but tons of stone fruit. Nice, thick mouthfeel. You get a bit of honey and grape as well. Medium finish where the honey flavour develops a bit more. If I was tasting blind, I might guess that this is a younger Cognac, as the grain flavours really take a back seat to the fruit. I'm not quite sure it works as a straight sipper, maybe needs a rock or two. This would really shine as the base of any peach cocktail. Toss peach schnapps in the garbage and pick up a bottle of this instead.