Silkie cask strength Blended Irish Whisky 64.3% ABV

This was part of our Sliabh Liag tasting on 16/11/21.

The Silkie cask strength blended Irish whiskey had an outrun of only 396 bottles, and was released at a cask strength of 64.3% ABV. This creates a richer and more integrated style, and the increase to the peating gives a rich layer for other flavours to play off.

The Silkie cask strength is a blend of double and triple distilled single malts with grain whiskey. There is also a small peated single malt element to this blend. #thewhiskeychaps

Appearance

Leaning towards mid gold in colour, with a medium thick swirl line, and a mix of medium legs and a few thick teardrops. #thewhiskeychaps

Nose

Oosh that’s some ABV alright, with toffee and fudge, a little vegetal note, allotments, definitely a wood polish aroma, and there is a sweetness also, slight menthol, linseed, and some cereal. #thewhiskeychaps

Palate

It’s one of those blended whiskeys that you’d never guess is a blend, and it’s quite spicy and the ABV is way up high, vanilla pastries are here, I’m going with apricots, hand rolling tobacco, a touch of strawberry jam, and cappuccino. #thewhiskeychaps

With more time I’m getting more red berries, vanilla ice cream/cream soda, dandelion and burdock, cask char, black liquorice too, and brown sugar. #thewhiskeychaps

Finish

Quite long, coming down to chest warming spicy now, and I’m getting some darker fruits now, figs, and dates, liquorice torpedo kids sweets, espresso, ginger root spiciness, cinnamon, black pepper, liquorice allsorts. #thewhiskeychaps

My thoughts

I have a bottle of the standard Silkie @40% ABV, and it’s a good sipper, jumping to this cask strength version brings a whole lot more all round. Its high ABV, which can be played with with water, but it certainly doesn’t need any. Initially the ABV is a more gentle slap, it is a wow moment, my palate acclimatised to the strength quite quickly, and access to aromas and flavours came easily, unlike some cask strength whiskeys/whiskies.

I adore the fruit/peat interplay this bottle brings, it’s one of my favourite whisk(e)y profiles in all honesty, and it bounces from sweet to peat and back, and towards the end of the palate and into the finish those darker heavier notes come through. The other big thing about this whiskey, and the Dark Silkie too, is that you soon forget that your enjoying a blended whisky, for me it sits easily alongside single malts, and i’d definitely have a bottle, but they sell very quickly, and i can totally see why.

Notes – This blended whiskey is presented in it’s natural colour, non chill filtered and at cask strength.

Thanks to – @JamesSliabhLiag, and a plethora of Irish whiskey twitter folk (you know who you are) for joining us for the tasting.