Irish whiskey is having fun with an enormous resurgence as of late, and personally, I’m all for it. I’m additionally sure I’m not alone in my sentiments both.
Irish whiskey, by its nature, is commonly thought of smoother, creamier, and oilier to most Scotch whiskies. It additionally sometimes undergoes a triple-distillation, leading to a silky easy end, with elevated notes of fruits and cereals.
Whereas Irish whiskey typically performs second fiddle to Scotch right here at Nice Drams, I’ve nonetheless received fairly the comfortable spot for an Irish dram and leap at any probability I get to take pleasure in a wee pattern or two. Not too way back, I discovered myself in Belfast on the McConnell’s Distiller, the place I used to be invited to take part in a tasting session of three of their hottest expressions, together with a brand new make of theirs.
Listed below are my ideas on the 4 drams we received to pattern.
McConnell’s New Make Whiskey
Kicking issues off on the tasting, we have been handled to a dram of McConnell’s ‘New Make’ whiskey, which got here in at a warming 50% ABV.
What I actually liked about their new make spirit was the truth that they emphasised the significance of the totally different senses and stimuli when crafting this wonderful wee dram. Temperature, local weather, aroma, look, and a lot extra in addition to all play such an necessary position in figuring out how a whiskey ought to style.
Mouthfeel and texture are crucial when crafting whiskey, and the staff at McConnell’s have actually picked up on this with this dram. They got down to craft a whiskey with “legs” or “tears” as it is usually identified. These function an indicator of a whiskey’s thickness, or oiliness, and alcohol content material. As soon as the whiskey is swirled within the glass, tiny droplets, or “tears” will run down the glass. The slower they fall, the oilier the mouthfeel might be.
This dram smelled unimaginable, which isn’t stunning contemplating McConnell’s state that as a lot as 70% of the whiskey’s style comes from the odor. I picked up robust notes of blackberry and liquorice to begin with floral honey notes, vanilla ice cream, and summer time berry jam.
On the palate, a heat up sip was beneficial as a result of excessive ABV, and boy, have been they proper. It was harsh for an Irish dram, however not as harsh as I used to be anticipating. It additionally shortly dissipated. A second sip yielded robust vanilla and blackberry jam flavours, tied collectively fantastically by barely fragrant notes. I, together with a number of others, additionally picked up malty, grainy, cereal notes that balanced out the tart fruity flavours completely. It jogged my memory of an autumn/winter berry crumble, doused in lashings of vanilla custard.
The end was very leggy, with great mouthfeel. It nearly felt like syrup within the mouth. Once more, loads of blackberry with notes of raspberry, and maybe a touch of evenly roasted oak.
