Now I honestly don't know how many of you have heard of The Irishman. I hadn't heard anything about it till a few days ago until a friend popped it out of his bar for a surprise curve ball at a tasting.
And what curve ball! With a corny name like that I was expecting this to be some cheap attempt at whisky making - how wrong I was.
Triple distilled and aged in both bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks this one's won quite a few medals which I was, frankly, ignorant about. With only 6000 bottles in every batch this one is numbered L0170 - what ever that means!
The nose is robust sherry with a lovely mix of cherries, dark raisins, chocolate chips with a nutmeg and chili grating on top. Finished off with a mist of orange blossom and vanilla fudge.
The palate is as creamy as the nose suggests with the same dark raisins and chocolate chips you find on the nose. There are then the toasted almonds, apricots and dark grapes in a swirl of orange liqueur - like Cointreau.
The bitter chocolate finish is long with a handful of chestnuts.
I love moments like these. When something unassuming takes you on such a splendid ride!
I'll be looking for this one. Thank you for an excellent review.
This is personally one of my favorite irish whiskies, along with both Redbreast 12yo expressions, and The Irishman Original Clan/70/Supreme (which is my everyday sipping whiskey). Not aways easiest to locate. Will be interesting to see if this expression changes with the eventual start-up of the Walsh Whiskey Distillery in Ireland (Carlow). It has been my understanding that the emphasis of the distillery will be on premium and ultra premium whiskies, so I am not sure where the "regular" single malt and blended whiskies fall within their plans or influences.