Made with 100% Irish Malted Barley, triple distilled in pot stills & matured in virgin American oak casks charred using sustainably harvested and organic Wakame seaweed as a fuel source.
Currach uses traditional Irish whiskey distillation techniques, triple distilling using copper pot stills. 1st fill ex-bourbon casks are used for initial maturation, before virgin American oak casks, charred using seaweed as a fuel source, for 3 months.
Seaweed harvesting employs about 400 people in Ireland, mostly part-time, as it’s very weather and tide dependent. Fourth Generation Seaweed Harvesters, The Talty Family, select the finest seaweed for Currach Single Malt Whiskey.
The seaweed grows naturally off the Wild Atlantic Way in Co. Clare. Hand-harvested ‘in season’ to provide optimum nutrition, the seaweeds are organically certified. The precious harvesting waters are also tested quarterly to ensure the highest quality.
Wakame, a green seaweed varietal, is both rare and seasonal, and considered to be the king of seaweeds. Wakame seaweed grows in the extreme lower shore on wave-battered rocks and in rock pools along the coast of Ireland.
We previously tasted @currachwhisky ‘Atlantic Kombu Seaweed Cask’ and were impressed that it worked so well, so we have high hopes for this 2nd release! 46% ABV, Non-Chill Filtered and about £50.
Appearance: A lovely mid gold, a touch of tangerine hue. Summer cider. Many medium-thick legs quickly form and cling to the glass #thewhiskeychaps
Nose: The first impression of the nose is that it’s not as heavy on the seaweed as the Kombu (which isn’t a bad thing in either sense). This is more delicate to me, it’s definitely still there, but more blended into the other aromas. A couple of sniffs and the salinity and herbal qualities start to come to the fore. That’s the distinctive nose I remember, works so well! Getting a bit of plasticine, the herbal quality and a good amount of ethanol for 46%, really sets things off on the senses. Feint red apples. As the glass ages, a richer fruity set of aromas start to develop. Mango, grape and pear (pear drops). The nose does mellow after some time, which is nice as it lets you get to some more delicate aromas like maltiness and sugary pastry.
Palate: A lovely mouthfeel. The delivery is more viscous than I would have expected (not sure why I expected anything less!).
Quite a spicy arrival too, and then there are the trademark seaweed flavours! Salty, vegetal & that mellow plasticine hum, it’s lovely.
The spice is mild chilli, cinnamon and maybe lemon pepper. Lemoncello is quite a dominant flavour in this one, and quite refreshing.
Finish: The finish for me is surprisingly fruity, given the initial spiciness, with grapefruit dusted with white pepper and more buttery and fruity notes.
Not an overly long finish, but it hangs around for a while, just tingling on the tongue. Sweet and salted popcorn (the decent stuff, not the crap in the cinema).
Overall: I’ll reiterate my belief and benchmark that the more notes I can write about a whisky, the better it is. I’ve already written loads for this, so great start!
This is another whisky that I reckon gives a different experience with every dram.
It evolves so well in the glass, the same process in the bottle will be very interesting and enjoyable. I’m starting to identify the toffee edge now, more sweetness emerges with age.
Salty peanut shells or salted popcorn kernels are a lovely flavour.
Overall I think this is another super whiskey that definitely wins the uniqueness trophy. It evolves in the glass and keeps you coming back for sip after sip.
Really nice stuff.
