Connemara - 22 year old - Review

As the excitement builds towards Whisky Live "Dublin", now is the perfect time of year for Irish whiskey distilleries and companies, apart from Bushmills, to come up with something new to grab our attention whilst walking round the Mansion House this Saturday coming.

There promises to be quite a lot of new bottlings on show but, to get their foot in the door first, The Kilbeggan Distilling Company have laid down the first marker by releasing their latest Connemara only a couple of weeks ago....Connemara 22 year old.

Now, those of you in the know with Irish whiskey, will be well aware that Connemara has always been produced at Cooley distillery in County Louth and that recently this distillery has found itself with a quick turnaround of owners.  From Beam Inc. taking over in 2011, to Suntory taking over Beam Inc. earlier this year, the distillery, and it's workers, could be forgiven for wondering what direction the future was headed, but now it seems that they are back on track and readying a vast number of releases to please their ever growing fan base.

All good indeed.

To give you a little insight into Cooley I can tell you that it was founded in 1985 when John Teeling acquired the building, which was a former potato alcohol plant, and converted it into a working whiskey distillery.  The distillery itself has both pot and column stills and sets itself apart by practising only double distillation as opposed to the traditional Irish triple distillation as displayed in the likes of Bushmills.

Over the years they have become famous under a variety of releases and brands including - Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, Connemara (peated malt), Greenore (Single Grain), Locke's, Feckin', Michael Collins, Titanic and being partly responsible for Writer's Tears (the malt part).

This has allowed their style and flavours to reach far and wide and in my opinion would have a lot of people being a fan of Cooley without knowing they were a fan of Cooley.

With regards to their Connemara my previous experiences have been a touch varied.  At times I've found it either being a big peaty beast, slapping you about the face, or a gentle tame smoky softy that just caresses at your love for all things turf.

For me, this Connemara 22 year old, is bang in the middle.

Bottled at 46% ABV, costing about £140 / €170 and un-chilfiltered, here's what I thought:

Nose - The initial feel is that this is not a peat monster.  There's a lovely mix of peat smoke, earthy turf and green notes of fruit and herbs.  Smooth cereal and malt with a touch of pepper.  Wood smoke.  Light vanilla.  Fresh green apple, lemon oil and fresh oak.  Quite youthful for a 22 year old in my opinion.  With time the smoke turns to that smell you get from your clothes the morning after standing beside an open fire the night before.

Palate - Sour arrival, very sour, bitter lemon becoming sweet with plenty of clove and more pepper.  Again, this is not a peaty beast but the rather the smoke interacts nicely with the spice and fruit flavours which continue with green, and now some red, apple.  Toasted malt, some chilli but not hot.  More lemon, now with orange, and some ash with a background of a damp burnt wood note, which isn't as unpleasant as it sounds.

Finish - Nice length with fruit being more dominant than anything resembling peat, but it is still there either in the background or walking alongside the fruity flavours as it's "little brother".

Overall this is very smooth and highly enjoyable.  I've had powerful Connemaras in my time, and this is certainly not one of them, but the lighter side this displays allows the smooth fruity character of Cooley to shine through.  I'd say that the longer maturation has caused the taming of this peat monster but it certainly has not diminished the whiskey.  

If this had of been bottled at 40% ABV it could have been a disaster.  Full marks to the Kilbeggan Distillery Company for presenting this just right.

All that said, I have to finish by stating that this quite simply doesn't take my breath away.  Undoubtably this a good whiskey, well made and well finished with good character, but I just can't say that I absolutely need to have it in my life.  I can't put my finger on exactly why that is but maybe with a bit of comparison, this Saturday, I can work it out....or maybe with a closer examination all will fall into place?

Who knows?  All I know is that this is why I love the world of whisky so much.  Just when you think you've got one thing figured out it sneaks up behind you and shows you a different side which can completely alter you opinion.

Well that about wraps things up for another review, and this shall be the last before I head down to "Whisky Live", but be sure to follow along on my Twitter page @Whisky_Belfast, this Saturday, as I shall (battery permitting) be tweeting my days adventures which will include, a tour of the Old Jameson Distillery, a quick look around the Dublin whiskey shops, a Benromach masterclass and of course the show itself where I'll be sampling as many new releases as I can and hopefully taking just as many notes to bring them all straight to you in Whisky Belfast review form.

Until next time,

Sláinte.

SI

Celtic Cask - Sé - Review

On Wednesday past I was lucky enough to be involved in a very exclusive little "Tweet Tasting" which was kindly hosted by The Celtic Whiskey Club of Dublin, Ireland.  The online tasting was highlighting the launch of the latest addition to their Celtic Cask range - Celtic Cask Sé.

Last Saturday I posted a blog update to give you all some background regarding the story behind this whiskey along with some insight into the Celtic Whiskey Club itself and The Celtic Whiskey Shop which is also based in Dublin, Ireland.  In case you missed the post you can find it by simply clicking here.

As for the the whiskey I think it's only fair that I recap what Celtic Cask Sé actually is.  It's a 22 year old, single malt whiskey that was born in September 1991 and bottled in November 2013.  It has been double distilled and is from from an unnamed distillery that normally practices triple distillation.  The cask, number 1916, came to the company courtesy of the Teeling Whiskey Company and has been finished, for about 4 months, in one of their Anima Negra wine casks.  It has been bottled at 46% ABV and another interesting note is that the initial spirit was distilled from crystal malt, which is more commonly used in brewing to add colour and body to ales.  It is retailing for €195 and can only be bought at the Celtic Whiskey Shop either in store or online.

Now, during the last update I gave my opinion as to where, I felt, the whiskey had originated from.  Although the Celtic Whiskey Shop has stated that it is from an unnamed distillery they have given away some clues by stating that the distillery normally practices triple distillation and that crystal malt was used in the making of this whiskey.  These clues led me to believe that the whiskey was in fact from Bushmills, and now, after sampling the Bushmills 12yr and 16yr, either side of the Celtic Cask Sé I am in no doubt.  The similarities are there for all to see in style and taste.  The main differences are obviously the red wine finish and the fact that Celtic Cask Sé has been presented at 46%, with presumably no colour added and no chill filtration.  I also have an opinion on the double distillation as opposed to the triple but I shall leave that for my review of the Bushmills 12yr, which shall be coming up soon.

Onto the tasting notes for Celtic Cask Sé -

Nose - The first hit is that of undiluted blackcurrant juice such as Ribena, fresh banana, ripe oranges, light spices and a very light menthol note.  An underlying nuttiness runs throughout and with time more tropical notes came through including fresh pineapple.  The red wine finish, whilst present, did not take away form the overall fruitiness of the spirit and the nose showcased this through great fruity complexity.  With water the experience became more citrus with more orange and now some lemon.  Beautifully, rich malt also made an appearance.

Palate -  JUICY, JUICY, JUICY!!!  Big red fruit arrival.  This is accompanied by sweet malt and warming spice in the form of clove.  Whilst the spice was warm it was not the slightest bit harsh.  Stewed apples and oranges with a touch more menthol.  Red fruit continues with more blackcurrant and maybe raspberry.  With water the spice is toned down and the red fruit is amplified.  I also noted a continued sweetness throughout the palate towards the finish.

Finish - Medium to long with clove spice and a lasting taste of more rich, juicy red fruit.

Overall - This is without doubt one of the most fruit laden whiskies I have ever had the pleasure of sampling.  Not as heavy as a sherried malt but fresher and juicier.  At €195 you will certainly have to save up a few pennies to get your hands on this whiskey but I'll put it in another light which might influence your decision.

For me this whiskey is not a million miles away from the Bushmills 21yr which can retail anywhere between £120 - £140, depending where you shop.  Translated this is roughly €145 - €170.  When you consider that the Bushmills 21yr is bottled at 40% and chill filtered with maybe some caramel added I think I'd rather spend that little bit extra and snap up a bottle of the Celtic Cask Sé which has been presented in a far better light and is also a 22yr old single cask.

Fantastic stuff.

Well that's all for this update.  Like I said I shall be back soon with not only a review of the Bushmills 12yr but also an insight into an aspect of the Belfast whiskey scene, namely the retailers.

Lastly I would like to, once again, thank the Celtic Whiskey Club for the sample and also for hosting the tweet tasting.  Hopefully there will be many more highlights throughout the year.

Until next time,

Slainte.

SI

Celtic Cask Sé - Tweet Tasting Preview

On Wednesday 22nd January, at 7:30pm, the Celtic Whiskey Shop / Celtic Whiskey Club shall be taking to twitter to host a tweet tasting showcasing their new release in the Celtic Cask range - Celtic Cask Sé.

This can be followed via their twitter pages @CelticWhiskeyCl and @Celticwhiskey or by following the hashtag #celticcask6.

The Celtic Whiskey Shop, based in the heart of Dublin City centre, is without doubt the finest whiskey shop on the island of Ireland.  First opened in June 2003 it has spent the last 10 and a bit years building strong links with all producers of Irish whiskey and can boast the most comprehensive whiskey range in Ireland with Irish, Scotch and World Whiskies (many rare & collectable). They also stock a fine selection of other spirits from around the world from armagnacs to grappas, rums to schnapps and plenty more. The shop has another side to it and in the other half of the store they also have an excellent wine section which has been re-branded in it's own right to become "Wines on the Green".

Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dublin, Ireland

With the additional strong links, via the wine side of the business, the company has also been working closely with fine wine producers and in 2009 they sourced wine casks from Anima Negra, in Spain, and further matured Tyrconnell Single Malt in the casks.  These bottlings were released under the Tyrconnell Label and the success of this whiskey encouraged the company to go even further and with this they sourced barrels from Madeira, Marsala, Burgundy, Rhone, Jerez, Tuscany & more from Anima Negra in Mallorca.  

This is when the Celtic Cask range was born.  The Celtic Cask range is a range of Irish whiskies that have been obtained by the Celtic Whiskey Shop and have been finished, to varying lengths, in one of the fine wine barrels they have in their possession.  The Celtic Cask range is highly exclusive and to date there have been 6 releases with each release being named after the Irish numbers corresponding to which release it is: Aon = 1, Dó = 2, Tri = 3, Ceathair = 4, Cuig = 5 and Sé = 6.

Celtic Cask Sé is the most recent of these releases.  It is a 22 year old, single malt whiskey that was born in September 1991 and bottled in November 2013.  It is a double distilled whiskey from an unnamed distillery that normally practices triple distillation (my guess is that it's from Bushmills).  The cask, number 1916, came to the company courtesy of the Teeling Whiskey Company and has been finished, for about 4 months, in one of their Anima Negra wine casks.  It has been bottled at 46% ABV and another interesting note is that the initial spirit was distilled from crystal malt, which is more commonly used in brewing to add colour and body to ales (Bushmills are known for having used crystal malt in the past).

Celtic Cask Sé is retailing for €195 and can only be bought at the Celtic Whiskey Shop either in store or online.

A wonderful Xmas gift I received last year was a membership to the Celtic Whiskey Club which is also attached to the company.  Set up in 2013 it's aim is to promote Irish Whiskey, in a fun and enjoyable manner.  Members get voting rights in the Irish Whiskey Awards and every two months members receive a special tasting sample, which will usually be a new release, a cask sample or an exclusive limited edition single cask.  Celtic Cask Sé was my first sample and what a first sample it is to receive.

As the year progresses I look forward to seeing what other delights come my way and without doubt I shall keep you all well informed as and when they arrive.

I have added some links to the bottom of the page highlighting the Celtic Whiskey Shop's website and the Facebook pages for the shop and club.

Until next time all I can say is don't forget to tune in to Twitter on Wednesday 22nd January at 7:30pm for what promises to be a great insight to a truly unique Irish Whiskey.

Slainte.

SI

Celtic Whiskey Shop website - www.celticwhiskeyshop.com

Celtic Whiskey Shop Facebook - www.facebook.com/Celticwhiskeyshop

Celtic Whiskey Club Facebook - www.facebook.com/CelticWhiskeyClub