Kinahan's Small Batch Irish Whiskey
$69.99
This blended Irish whiskey is bottled at 46% after maturing in American oak. The youngest whisky in the bottle is 6 years old. 85pts Whisky Advocate.
From the Producer: "Crafted in small batches, using only traditional methods, it is carefully matured in two types of American oak casks for a minimum of six years. The matured whiskey is then skilfully blended to deliver the unusually mellow, malty, full flavoured character, which made Kinahan’s L.L. so popular for over a two centuries."
About Kinahan's: "Kinahan’s whiskey was founded by Daniel Kinahan in 1779. Generations of the Kinahan family ensured it became renowned for its unique taste and character. In 1807, Charles Lennox, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was so impressed with this whiskey that he ordered all barrels at the Kinahan family cellars be kept exclusively for his private use, marking each cask with “L.L.” This mark still adorns each and every bottle."
Teeling Single Malt 24 Year
$509.99
96pts Whisky Advocate
Of 9 bottles that KWM managed to put it hands on, just 3 are left of this whisky which was Whisky Magazine's "Best Irish Single Malt", World Whiskies Awards. Bottled at 46%.
Producer's Tasting Note
Nose: Aromas of white grapes, cut grass, apricots and white chocolate.
Taste: Silky smooth, with flavours of fig jam, honey, apricots, white chocolate and crisp saltiness at the end to balance the sweetness off.
Finish: Long and mellow.
Producer Description: "Limited to just 5,000 bottles, the Teeling Whiskey Company is proud to introduce this special release of some of the oldest Irish Single Malt in the world. Matured initially in Bourbon casks before being given an additional maturation in ex-Sauternes wine barrels, imparting a distinctly unique flavour. Bottled at 46% with no chill filtration completing a whiskey of true character. Awarded World’s Best Irish Single Malt, 2016 at the World Whiskies Awards, this is a whiskey to savour."
96pts Whiskey Advocate: "Wow—the nose is spellbinding. An exuberant mix of heavy fruit and deep sweetness: crème brûlée, vanilla pod, fruit syrups, sticky jam tarts, and apricot stone. Silken mouthfeel, with orange flan and brown sugar, growing increasingly tangy, with peppery spice rippling over the tongue and hints of smoke at the end. Oak char and marzipan fruits on the finish. The bar has been set high for Irish whiskey this year."
Teeling Single Malt 33 Year
$4,999.99
Teeling Innis & Gunn Stout
$84.99
This is a special batch of Teeling's Small Batch Blended Irish Whiskey finished in barrels seasoned with Kith & Kin Innis & Gunn Teeling matured Stout. Just 1200 bottles released worldwide at 46% without colouring or chill-filtering.
Producer Tasting Note: "Freshly sliced, malted flavor, with pickles, apricot, orange, oyster, honey, vanilla, rosemary and yellow pears. Served room-tempered as avec, possibly with a rinse water."
The Whisky Agency Irish Malt 1990
$489.99
This is a 1990 vintage Irish single malt, like many of the other Irish mystery single malts, this one is also likely from the Cooley distillery. Bottled after 27 years at 48.1% from an Ex-Bourbon Barrel. Scored 90pts by both Angus and Serge @WhiskyFun and 91pts by Whisky Notes.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: doughy and creamy, clotted cream, floral with flambeed banana, and vanilla pods; some tart fruits, grape licorice shoelaces with midori melon liqueur.
Palate: big, bright, creamy and unctuous; the vanilla pods, clotted cream and flambeed banana are layered on thick and heavy; jammy fruits: strawberry preserves, more midori melon liqueur and waxy grape shoelaces; as the oak tones settle down it becomes more floral and spicy even as the oily oak tones cling on.
Finish: long, coating, creamy and increasingly spicy; toasty tones linger with jammy fruits, thick oils and floral vanillans.
Comment: this is a top notch Irish single malt with respect to quality, and very old by the standards of Emerald Isle whiskies; the distillery it was produced at only opened 3 years before this was distilled; in that light, it is a rare gem indeed!
90pts Serge @ Whisk Fun: "Angus has already tried this one, so just for the record… Colour: white wine. Nose: really, this is banana liqueur, ‘improved’ with sunflower honey and pineapples. Loads of pineapples. Mouth: more a sin than whisky. Full fruit mode, with perfect touches of dried herbs, and massive bananas and pineapples, plus a little coconut. Then pears and guavas. I wouldn’t say it’s the most complex old Irish from this vein ever, but of course it’s perfect whiskey. Finish: rather long, a tad more candied, and frankly tropical. The kind they would pour you on Kuta Beach, Bali. Comments: very very very very very very good, but the Maltbarn was even deeper in my opinion. As for the scores, I do agree with young Angus (not Angus Young, mind you). Some brilliant Irish. SGP:651 - 90 points."
90pts Angus @ Whisk Fun:"Colour: Light gold. Nose: These batches are starting to become a kind of category all their own these days now that quite a number of casks have been bottled. This one is atypical with plenty of fresh grassiness overlying some very luscious and fresh green/tropical fruit notes. Gooseberry, gorse, tinned pineapple and some sharper citrus notes as well. With water: goes more in the direction of orange peel and tangerines now with a pleasing coal hearth note as well. Mouth: A slight sharpness on the attack but otherwise we are rolling in all kinds of tropical and green fruits again. Lots of guava, mango, lychee and fresh pears. It’s quite simple but also very beautiful as well. With water: the fruit becomes a little more rounded and less separate along with a slightly dryer edge which emerges alongside some nice mineral notes. Finish: Good length, some nice notes of assorted citrus peel and perhaps some more ‘generic tropical stuff’. Comments: Another boringly great old Irish Whiskey. The kind of whisky you can quaff with friends all afternoon. SGP: 761 - 90 points."
Whisky Notes Tasting Note - 91pts: "Nose: luscious fruits, ranging from gooseberries to tangerines, lime, pineapples and fresh banana. Also a warmer side of guava and tiny hints of vanilla ice cream. Hints of rapeseed oil. Mouth: pretty stunning (again). Always a pleasure to find so much pineapple, bananas, coconut, mango and lychee in whisky. Simple pleasures. There's a slight herbal edge which becomes rounder with a drop of water. Finish: long, still tropically fruity but with a drier feel to it now, more coconut and an almost mineral finale."
Teeling Brabazon Single Malt Series 1
$107.99
The Barbazon Series, has been created to highlight the influence of fortified wine casks on the maturation of Teeling whiskey. The Barbazon Series 1 was matured in six Sherry casks and bottled at 49.5%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: earthy, musty and fruity; fruit bars, quince paste and fig jam; a tad malty (youthful) with firm leather and candied ginger; proscuitto wrapped grilled dates and silky honey.
Palate: round, malty, fruity and rich; very jammy: strawberry, fig and more quince paste; leathery and spicy with softer and rounder earthy notes than the nose let on; more candied ginger and cinnamon sticks with a touch of fennel and prosciutto wraped grilled dates.
Finish: long and firm with malt, spices leather and dark fruits.
Comment: interested to see the progression from this series; this is a good start.
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: Earthy dried fruit and roasted hazelnut, with marmalade, peach, plum and burnt toffee.
Taste: A rich sherry sweetness, red berries, nuttiness and toffee, with a hint of liquorish and clove.
Finish: Lingering mixed spice, trail-mix, crisped marshmallow, dry tannins and spice with toasted wood.
From the Producer: "The Brabazon Bottling Series is a limited edition collection of unique Irish Single Malts capturing the full impact and flavour crafted through fortified wine cask maturation. Series No. 1 focuses on sherry cask maturation and consists of a range of carefully selected sherry cask aged whiskeys producing a full flavoured sherry influenced Irish Single Malt. This bottling consists of a vatting of 6 different sherry casks, carefully chosen for their complementary character. The Brabazon Bottling Series 1 is bottled at 49.5% ABV with no chill filtration allowing for all the natural flavours of this whiskey to be retained. Limited to just 12,500 bottles, this is a whiskey to savour."
Teeling Revival Vol. 3 14 Yr Pineau ...
$174.99
After maturing 13 years in Ex-Bourbon, the whisky was finished for a year in Pineau Des Charentes casks before bottling at 46%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: buttery and creamy with a hint of old Calvados and stewed white fruits: apple and pear; becomes nuttier with whipped cream on warm waffles with a dash of maple syrup.
Palate: round, fruity, subtly spicy and very decadent... ; more old calvados, decadent spice, moist bread and butter pudding, dried appricots and walnuts; very honyed, more whipped cream on waffles, but not as much maple syrup; the cooked/stewed white fruits are still there with a touch of chutney.
Finish: very elegant and balanced; it seems light but the finish actually builds and grows with time; not unlike a fine old Calvados.
Comment: this is a beautiful malt; elegant, decadent, layered and vibrant.
Producer Tasting Noteub
Nose: Subtle bouquet of honey and hazelnuts with rich dark chocolate undertones.
Taste: Dried fruit and toffied pineapple giving way to toasted almonds and dark chocolate.
Finish: Balanced, rich mouth feel with a lingering soft sweetness.
Producer Description: "Consists of 14 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey distilled in 2002 initially matured in Bourbon barrels for the first 13 Years before it was given an extra years maturation in ex-Pineau Des Charentes casks. Bottled at 46% with no chill filtration creates a truly unique Irish whiskey taste experience. The third limited edition bottling in The Revival Commemorative Series. Limited to 10,000 decanter bottles with premium secondary packaging to ensure on-shelf stand out."
Whisky Fassle Irish Malt XO
$314.99
No age statement here, but a rather high price point. Being as we know Whisky-Fassle as reputable (and absolutely willing to offer up great old drams at prices that almost always align with quality!), let's assume this has a very healthy proportion of older Irish Malt in the mix. And...uh...they do call it 'extra old' after all.
This one caused quite a stir at a recent tasting here in town. The price is high, but the quality is even higher. Definitely worth snapping up before it's too late.
50.6% abv
Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey 14 Year
$70.99