
May 29, 2019

Another case of indie Irish (and girls)

There’s more of those independent Irish single malts, most stemming from Northern Ireland (so Bushmills). Please take notice, they are not pure pot still Irish whiskeys, they’re well single malts. And we’ll carefully avoid any non-producing Irish distilleries today, as well as any other unlikely brands and opportunistic establishments…

Irish Single Malt 2001/2018 (50.7%, Whisky-Doris, The Nose Art, bourbon barrel, cask #3673, 225 bottles)

These vintages are known for being less extravagantly fruity than the 1988-1991s, let’s see. Colour: straw. Nose: fruit syrup and soft custard, that’s the main theme here. Almond croissants, barley water, peach syrup, and distant whiffs of prickly pears. Peach liqueur, or even Bellini. Mouth: rather grassy and peppery at first, then fruitier and a tad varnishy. Green tea, pear spirit, lemon juice. Finish: rather long, a tad ethanoly perhaps, but with good fruits and grasses. Apple peeling. Comments: rather a rougher one for a start. It’s good, for sure, but perhaps not one to have with langoustines, see what I mean.
SGP:561 - 83 points.

County of Antrim 24 yo 1991/2016 (47.8, Acla da Fans, sherry, 158 bottles)

This one by a well-reputed Eastern-Swiss house that is also doing cigars. They’re located in a kind of tax-free heaven where Appenzeller cheese comes cheaper (joking). Colour: gold. Nose: a touch of some kind of lemony varnish at first, then an avalanche of maracujas, grapefruits and pomegranates. It’s very pure, extremely fruity, and pretty tart, at least for one or two minutes. More sultanas are appearing then, as well as quite a lot of rooibos tea. Which is kind of funny. Mouth: huge. Fresh fruit salad and golden sultanas, with a solid oaky backbone. Red pears, kirsch, papayas, quince wine, also really a lot of herbal teas, possibly from some rather virulent oak. More rooibos, Assam, cinnamon, cocoa powder… Finish: rather long but the oak’s got even more noticeable, if not dominant. It’s still fantastic whiskey, and the nose was out of this world, but there, the sherry cask was probably a little too buoyant. IMHO as we used to say when the Internet was a free world. Comments: well, as I just said. Very good, not very great, because of the oak.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

North of Ireland 27 yo 1988/2015 (47.6%, The Whisky Agency and Acla da Fans, bourbon, 201 bottles)

North of Ireland 27 yo 1988/2015 (47.6%, The Whisky Agency and Acla da Fans, bourbon, 201 bottles)
I agree, North of Ireland and Northern Ireland may not be the same thing. Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical mango-y start, then some typical maracujas, and hints of pink bananas. Then melons and peach jam, light honey, and fresh hazelnuts. Pristine, as expected. Mouth: some bonbons and pear drops at first, then a grassier oiliness, guava and avocado juices, almond milk, and rather a lot of white pepper. Gets then very citrusy, mainly on pink grapefruits. Feels a little younger than 27 this time, but quality’s high. Finish: long, with touches of varnish and perhaps preserved pineapples. Grassier aftertaste, mango peel… Comments: extremely good but I think we’ve known some smoother 1988-1991 Irish.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Warming up, you see…

Irish Single Malt 28 yo 1990/2018 (48.4%, The Whisky Agency, barrel)

Irish Single Malt 28 yo 1990/2018 (48.4%, The Whisky Agency, barrel)
Always good fun with these labels – are they suggesting Irish whiskey attracts women like flowers attract bees? Colour: pale gold. Nose: beware, vorsicht, attencion, it seems that it’s one of those mega-fruit-bombs. But there aren’t only mangos and bananas, there are also fine herbs, leaves, cherry stems, perhaps a wee touch of bay leaf, and some superb whiffs of super-fresh almonds. Honeysuckle. Perfect nose, not just fruits and basta cosi. Mouth: some kind of melon and mango smoothie, jams and jellies, more ripe peaches, also a little oak that’s a tad too apparent for me, making it just a little too tea-ish. Right, tannic-like. That is why this charming baby will miss the 90-mark in my book – dura lex, sed lex. Finish: medium, excellently fruity, but again, with a few green tannins too many in the aftertaste. Comments: we’re starting to border perfection.
SGP:661 - 89 points.

Irish Single Malt 28 yo 1990/2019 (47.3%, The Whisky Agency, Private Stock, barrel)

Colour: gold. Nose: something else, fatter, with embrocations and crushed nuts, whiffs of hay, blond tobacco, croissants, sunflower oil, and only then fruit peelings and sweet potatoes. Vanilla pods. Mouth: excellent, extremely citrusy, very fresh and refreshing, with some white grapes, lemons, passion fruits, rhubarb and kiwis, and a lovely feeling of Chablis, no ideas where that came from. Please pass the oysters! Finish: rather long and rather on marc de gewurz, really. That was unexpected, to say the least. Do they now grow gewurztraminer in Ireland, thanks to global warming? Comments: unusual and very excellent, this rather grappa-y Irish!
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Irish Malt 29 yo 1989/2018 (48.8%, Maltbarn, bourbon)

Irish Malt 29 yo 1989/2018 (48.8%, Maltbarn, bourbon)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: just yes. Starts with wee whiffs of banana skins, goes on with ripe kiwis and bananas, fresh marzipan, almonds, acacia honey, wallflowers and dandelion, and keeps going on with various apples and fresh tree bark and roots. This is what I call a perfect nose. Mouth: tense and tight, citrusy, with a little agave syrup to keep it, well, tight. Tangerines, blood oranges, muscovado sugar, marshmallows, also Wulong tea and touches of sage and tarragon that bring much complexity. Orange blossom honey. Finish: rather long and just perfect. Melon sherbet in the aftertaste, very refreshing indeed. Comments: this one’s quite flawless, I think it’s worth some solid 91%. Remember, when we use the 100-scale, those are actually percentages. Very well done again, Maltbarn.
SGP:551 - 91 points.

Perhaps a last one…

Irish Malt 29 yo 1989/2019 (56.5%, Liquid Treasures, 10th Anniversary, ex-rum barrel, 127 bottles)

Irish Malt 29 yo 1989/2019 (56.5%, Liquid Treasures, 10th Anniversary, ex-rum barrel, 127 bottles)
Looks like they have a thing with pin-ups in Germany. Colour: straw. Nose: well, the rum was neither Hampden nor Worthy Park and the influence was well controlled. Perhaps a little more tar and rubber? New Wellies? A perfect nose again, this time a tad waxier, with some beeswax and a little banana skin. Now go figure, where do these bananas come from? From the whiskey or from the rum? Can we survive without having the answers to that very crucial question? With water: wait wait wait, there is a very wee petroly side here, but that may be found in many a rum. Agricole? Oh there, we’re having a wonderful Irish malt and we’re spending our time trying to detect the rum. How silly. Mouth (neat): indeed, what’s the rum and what’s the whisky? Does that matter? Fresh bananas are ruling the show, plantains, then guavas, sweet juicy apples, some waxy honeys, perhaps touches of pinot gris, quinces… All is excellent here. With water: just very good. The rum’s extremely discreet now. Finish: rather long, rather grassy, peely, leafy… Banana and mango skins. Comments: don’t they have tropical gardens in Ireland, thanks to the gulf stream? A fantastic Irish once again, Maltbarn’s was just a notch cleaner and a tad more high-res. Indeed, splitting hairs once again.
SGP:651 - 90 points.

Check the index of all Irish we've tasted so far