I can't believe it's been a full month since I wrote my last review - it's been a very busy July! Time to get back at it, methinks. This one is part of the standard Tyrconnell range of 10 year old single malts finished in either Sherry, Port or Madeira. The bottle code on this is L14114.
The colour is a very light amber. On the nose there is light Demerara, rum raisin, toasted coconut, papaya, cocoa and tapioca. A bit citrusy. Toasted almonds. With water it gets maltier, and adds a sourdough note. The richness of the cask is nicely balanced by what seems to be a light malt.
Spicy on the palate with mouth-pulling tannins, more Demerara, chocolate cream, pineapple and more coconut. There is no doubt that this is finished in a fortified wine cask, though if I tasted blind I might think it was a port cask, being so rich. Water makes it spicier and even more mouth-pulling! Delicious and salivating.
The finish is long and deep with oak, dates and allspice. As some of you may know, I'm always cautious with finished malts but this one works quite beautifully (more so than the Sherry Cask and especially more than the Port Cask variations). Very easy to drink but also enormously complex. Jim Murray scored this a 91 (though from a different bottle code) and John Hansell scored this a 93, calling it the best Cooley whisky he had every tasted (I wouldn't go quite that far). This may become a staple in my house.
Many thanks for your insightful review, @talexander. I put this on my wish list right away.
My mother asked me to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner. I picked a store that had a brand of apple cider that my wife likes to surprise her. That store happened to have several Tyrconnells. I saw it. I saw the attractive price. I remembered the positive review. I went and picked up the wine and the cider. I left. Do I have lingering thoughts? Yes. Will I regret this in 10 years when I haven't made a dent in my collection? Probably not.