Nectar of the Daily Drams Ireland 23 Year Old 1991

This peated Irish malt from The Nectar was one of the highlights of the Spirits in the Sky festival if the blog posts that appeared left and right are to be believed. Peated stock usually means Cooley (or Teeling), but one can never be sure, of course. Anyway, let us give this one a go.

It is indeed peaty, but soft. I get more fruit than peat, which is no surprise in this case. It is Irish after all. The fruit translates into banana, pineapple and lime. Hints of white wine. Some earthy notes as well. Honey, vanilla and a touch of oak suggest a bourbon cask.

It is quite oily on the palate. Fresh start on all kinds of tropical fruits. Yes, I also get some passion fruit, mandarin and mango on licquorice that results in a drying effect. The peat is more pronounced and develops some smoke, but the dram does not lose its fresh fruitniness. That freshness is probably also due to a bit of mint. Quite nice!

The finish is wonderfully long, warm and spicy, but remains fruity until the death.

I am tempted to call this Connemara, but it is so fruity that it might as well be a Bushmills that matured on an Islay cask. Who can tell? Whatever the case, it is fantastic and rightfully paised. With a price tag of 180 EUR, it is unfortunately not for everyone.