Dingle Small Batch Release No. 3

I have only tried 1W from this relatively new Irish distillery, a single cask for Austria. Today I will try one of their own releases, batch 3, that was released already in 2018. It is a vatting of bourbon and port casks, respectively 75% and 25%, of which no less than 13.000 bottles hit the market.

The nose makes me raise my eyebrows. It is not bad, do not get me wrong, but my first thoughts was a mix of gin and plum liqueur, not so much whiskey. I smell red fruit and a truckload of juniper berries, I kid you not. Then raisins, pear drops, milk chocolate and dark beer. Some walnuts and an umami trait that I can only describe as raw beef. There is a lot going on here and the smell is quite good, albeit pretty sweet, but a bit un-whiskey-like. You know what I mean.

Soft on the palate, devoid of spices, but nicely oily. Immediately honeysweet on raisins, strawberries, blueberries, laurel leaves, chestnut and pear drops. On the palate I can again not get rid of the impression that I am tasting a good flavored gin. But no, this is in fact a triple distilled Irish whiskey. Look, it says so on the label.

The finish is medium long with a spicy prickle, which comes a bit as a surprise, because both on the nose and on the palate I did not get any spices. What a sniper!

Lovely whiskey, but a bit too funky to be really good. I mean... I would not want a full bottle of this because I would have trouble finishing it. Unless I start making cocktails.