Slane Castle

Slane Castle in the east of Ireland is most well known for its concert series that draws top artists. Owned by the same family, Slane Castle Irish Whiskey is a independent bottling of 4+ year old whiskey from the Cooley distillery. It is/was available in Ireland, the UK, and parts of the USA (mostly in the northeast , I imagine). This whiskey has technically be around for about a decade but I only started seeing it in stores about a year or two ago. Whatever is in stores now is the last of it (at least until they find another way to get distillate) with Cooley being sold to Beam it has been announced that no more contract sales (to independent bottlers) will be available.

Onto the liquid. the whiskey has a more reddish (but not really dark) tint than most Irish whiskies, whether they choose more sherry casks or are more into caramel coloring I don't know.

Nose: Vanilla and caramel with pear fruit overtones. Bit of malty youthfulness.

Palate: Smoother than expected from the nose. Easy drinking. There is a nuttiness (hazelnuts?) and something with a bit of creaminess, like a touch of chocolate. The vanilla sweetness is still there but more honey like. Rounding off with some malt and some type of fruit, but not crisp like pears, maybe berries or kiwi.

Finish: Fairly dry, with a little bit of that citrus-alcohol tingle. The malt grain lingers for a while.

Overall this is a very good value whiskey. It's a shame it's not available any more. Except for a few shops with left over stock.