These tasting notes have kindly been written and sent to us by Greg Szczepkowski (@bogstandarddram).
“After a decade resting in bourbon barrels, The Tyrconnell Port Cask Finish is transitioned into port wine casks from the Duoro Valley in Portugal for an additional 6-8 months of ageing. Bottled at 92 proof, the additional time spent in hand-selected port casks gives this single malt whiskey a nose that evokes baked apples and notes of roots. A warm sweetness recedes, allowing a finish characterized by a multitude of spices to move to the forefront.”
Bottling notes
Greg: This whiskey is TWICE distilled like most of the Scotch counterparts. There are three finishes available: Madeira, Port and Sherry. This review is about Port Cask. I suspect this whiskey is Non Chill-Filtered at this ABV
Appearance: Golden, no obvious wine cask tint, quite oily but relatively thin legs.
Nose: Pot cooked fruits: apples, pears. Honey, bramble fruit jam, sweet citrus (blood orange), fruit jellies, peaches, cocoa dust, a touch of coffee, wax, burned sugar, faint bubble gum, fruit-scented candle. Wet wood is always present, encapsulating all the above.
Palate: Subtle sweet and waxy delivery, drying into a plethora of wood spices, honey, sour jellies, a touch of charred wood, fragrant fresh citrus/wood note, pepper, very faint burned match sulphur (working beautifully!!!), cocoa and touch of vanilla sugar.
Subsequent sips are touch drier displaying a superbly balanced mix of dark chocolate notes with a touch of spice.
Finish: Medium, dry, wood, char, very moreish. After some time, the notes of milk chocolate appear, citrus fades into delicate peppery note. Wood sap, coating your mouth with fresh oak.
Overall: On paper, it’s too expensive. Expect to pay 75 euro for 10-year-old Irish whiskey – what’s that all about? But wow!! By any chance please at least sample it!!!
This whiskey went under my radar for way too long, as potentially “meh”. But for a seasoned aficionado, this complex, fresh, fruity and heavy malt offers a very enjoyable experience worth the punt.
The more I sip on it, the better it becomes, each time I dip into my bottle I discover something new. The bottle won’t last long, take my word for it!
The balance is spot on, you get this fruit, honey and wood spice interwind all in the right measure, worthy of more expensive expressions. At 46% ABV you get a serious whiskey offering here in my opinion.
For the beginners accustomed to triple distilled single pot stills, it may appear odd at first, but rest assured – this is the whiskey for the marathon, not the sprint.
It’s a great ambassador of twice distilled Cooley distillery style.
Thanks for a great set of notes Greg! For more whisky-related wisdom, follow Greg on Twitter, using the button below.
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