November Whiskey of the Month

I was going to save this whiskey for Christmas, but following arduous negotiations with DHL, who were delivering it from The Single Malt Shop in Dublin (from whom I bought the bottle), after the first failed attempt to deliver, apparently it arrived too late at DHL locally to be put on the delivery van that day (fair enough), I arranged another date. However, following a failed attempt to deliver my bottle just after 4.00 pm on the agreed day, I was told they were sorry, but no-one was in! 😏 I'll explain why I was a wee bit peeved, well, it was because I had agreed the delivery to go to a friend's pub, with staffing 07.00-23.30, and I was there at the time of delivery, when they found no one in! So, I again rang DHL and the lad I talked to said he could see the delivery address was a pub and that he would make sure there was a note to the driver that the delivery address was a pub. Anyway, one week after it was first meant to be delivered the package arrived, and I couldn't resist opening the bottle and, as you can see from the image above, I started drinking this whiskey a wee bit earlier than intended, my apologies for this drawn out story!

As soon as I opened the bottle I was grateful I had, but more of that in the following paragraphs. This Irish Whiskey is from an independent distillery in Skibbereen in County Cork that was set up over 20 years ago in 2003 by 3 pals since childhood. Originally they distilled in a room in one of their homes in 2 small stills they had bought from a Swiss schnapps producer, but since then they set up a much larger distilling kit in Skibbereen in 2014 and their business has expanded exponentially; this is now West Cork Distillers (website). 

Their 7-Year-Old Single Malt Whiskey (46.0%) is made using locally grown grain, which is mashed in to release the sugars, and then fermented by added yeast to the mash; a process very similar to brewing ales, and explained in much more detail on their website. The main difference with ale, of course, is then the distilling process begins, and this being an Irish Whiskey, it is triple distilled, as most are. West Cork's 7-Year-Old is then matured before bottling, adding colour, flavours and complexity; first aged for 4 years in Bodega Olorosso Sherry casks, and then for a further 3 years in first fill Bourbon casks.

So, what is this whiskey like? Aroma-wise I got an immediate sweetness in the nose like Bakewell Tart, and the taste was also sweet to start with, almonds and fruits, and an almost butterscotch caramel flavour, certainly very much the cherries and marzipan that was hinted at in the aroma. But don't be fooled by this incredibly smooth and easy to drink whiskey, because the 46.0% strength alcohol makes itself very obvious as it goes down with a lovely warming finish.

Pretty damn good, sláinte! 😁

Clonakilty Whiskey...

Yes, yes, I know, I've already written about a whiskey this month (blog), but I was drinking in the Hastings Jolly Fisherman (blog) yesterday, and Oliver waved a not yet opened bottle in front of me, and tempted me to buy a glass of it. I'm easily tempted, no control! 😉 So there it was, distilled in County Cork by Clonakilty (website), their 46.0% Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, I'll have some of that, thank you very much! 

Clonakilty is quite a new distillery, set up in 2019, and they use only barley grown in Co Cork, the whiskey is triple distilled in copper pot stills, and matured in ex-Bourbon, Oloroso and Amontillado casks. This produces an aroma strongly teasing me with vanilla and hints of citrus and butterscotch, and tasting gently of vanilla with a hint of pear, orange and butterscotch, smooth, but you know the alcohol is there whilst drinking and as it goes down, good stuff, sláinte!

February Whiskey of the Month!

Well, the Christmas cards have been taken down from the bookcase, and we reach the February Whiskey of the Month, The Busker, distilled at Royal Oak Distillery in County Carlow, Ireland (website). They produce 3 types of whiskey for their Single Collection, a Single Malt, a Single Pot Still, and the Single Grain, which is my February Whiskey of the Month.

The Busker Single Grain is a 44.3% whiskey presented in an attractive heavy squarish bottle (image above), and is distilled in a column still, not a more traditional pot still, resulting in a lighter whiskey. Indeed, this is a very easy to drink light straw coloured whiskey that has aged in Bourbon casks from the USA, and then in Sicilian Marsala casks. This smooth and light whiskey is quite sweet to start off, with hints of vanilla, honey and dried fruits to taste, with a warm glowing slightly tart alcohol finish, very reasonably priced, and pretty decent indeed!

And you know you've had a whiskey of 44.3%, slainte! 👍