Celtic Cask - Deich - Review

Tonight I continued my exploration of new and interesting Irish whiskeys by taking part in another fine "Tweet Tasting" hosted by the Celtic Whiskey Club.  The sample for the evening was a new release from the Celtic Whiskey Shop's "Celtic Cask" range - The Celtic Cask Deich, or Celtic Cask Ten for the non Gaelic speakers out there, and those of you who may have previously seen my reviews of the Celtic Cask Sé (7), or the Celtic Cask Ocht (8), will know that I usually hold these whiskeys in high regard as they always seem to deliver on quality and taste.

The previous reviews of the Sé and Ocht covered whiskeys that had originally come from the Bushmills distillery but for tonight's offering we were being taken a bit further down the east coast of Ireland to Cooley,  Co. Louth.

The Celtic Cask Deich is a double distilled, peated, single malt that has been matured for 15 years.  The first 11 years of it's maturation were spent, traditionally, in an ex-bourbon barrel whilst the last 4 years were spent in a red wine barrel from the Domain Anges winery, which is located in the Rhone Valley, France.

As you can guess, with the Celtic Cask Deich being peated, this single malt could have been Connemara in another life but thankfully the Celtic Whiskey Shop got their hands on this cask and have given it an interesting twist with the red wine finish.

The original spirit was casked on 19th March 1999, and was bottled on 23rd February 2015, so in fact this isn't a kick in the arse off being a 16 year old.

Bottled at 46% ABV, and being non-chill filtered, this whiskey currently retails on the Celtic Whiskey Shop website for £107.65.

Another thing you may have picked on over my blog updates is that Connemara, as a whiskey, is usually one that I enjoy without ever being bowled over by.  I've always found it to be a tiny little bit thin and the 22 year old, whilst undoubtedly well made, just didn't "do it" for me.

Naturally then, when I received this sample in the post, I was excited to see if the single cask style, combined with a well managed finish, would mean I had finally found the Connemara I had been looking for.

Onto my notes:

Nose - Once poured this takes a second or two to settle in the glass and when it does there's a serious battle going on between the peated spirit and the red wine cask influence.  A good battle though it has to be said.  The peat comes through for starters and is light and gentle.  Burnt embers and dry wood smoke come across with a slight chalky, mineral note.  Not sure if that's the peat or the cask.  All the time this peat influence is distinctly coated in the red fruits which are rich and juicy.  Ripe strawberry and blackcurrant juice.  A slight minty / menthol note appears along with dark chocolate orange and some nice oak vanilla.  With time the peat develops but in the end the red wine cask wins with some red apple appearing as well.

Palate - This is more red wine cask dominant, than the nose, with sweet red fruits, more strawberry and a variety of currants.  The dry peat / wood smoke just lurks in the background enough to remind you it's there but it's definitely taking a back seat now.  There's some spice on the taste, presumably from the French oak red wine cask, and again there's the menthol which is also a little like eucalyptus now.  Initially this is most definitely sweet and juicy but the oak takes over and brings a nice dryness to the mouth.

Finish - Medium in length with stewed orange leading into crunchy red apple which is lip smacking and juicy.  Right at the end, when the fruit aftertaste subsides, the dry smoke returns for one last hurrah.

Overall this is honestly the best Irish peated whiskey I have tasted.  Whilst I admittedly have not tried the entire Connemara range, nor any other independent bottlings, I have tried the recent 22 year old and for me the Celtic Cask Deich is by far the better dram.

I initially thought, when I first poured this into the glass, that it was a little bit muddled,  and unbalanced, with no sense of identity, as the two distinct flavours fought to be noticed, but as the seconds ticked on my fears were put to bed as I found the whiskey becoming extremely well integrated.....it is clear this finish has been handled to near perfection. 

The red fruits flavours, from the red wine cask, marry nicely with the Cooley peat spirit, which I have sometimes found to be a little on the weak side, and both get a good chance to have their say.

Yet again the Celtic Whiskey Shop have outdone themselves in selecting a great cask of whiskey and putting their own spin on it.  When it comes to red wine finishes they seem to hit the nail on the head every time and I only hope they continue to do this for years to come, and I get to sample as many as I can.

What's Gaelic for 100?

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Celtic Cask - Ocht - Review

Hello there and let me begin by wishing you all a very happy New Year.  A touch late I know but I better late than never.  In honesty though, I've been a little absent over the last month as I took the festive period to truly unwind and spend quality time with friends and family, as I hope did all of you.

Not to worry though, with all that relaxation I had plenty of time to enjoy a lot of all things whisky and have plenty to be writing about as we move swiftly through the first month of 2015.  Furthermore I fully intend to crank this whole blog up a notch or two and look forward to expanding and pushing myself on to bigger things.

For now though I'll jump straight in with something new and Irish.

Roughly this time last year I typed out a review highlighting a latest release from The Celtic Whiskey Shop, which is based in Dublin City Centre.  That review looked at a bottling from their very exciting "Celtic Cask" range - the Celtic Cask Sé.

To recap the Celtic Cask Sé was a 22 year old, single malt whiskey that was born in September 1991 and bottled in November 2013.  It was double distilled and came from from an unnamed distillery that normally practices triple distillation.  The cask, number 1916, came to the company courtesy of the increasingly awesome Teeling Whiskey Company and was finished, for about 4 months, in one of their Anima Negra wine casks.  It was bottled at 46% ABV and another interesting note was that the initial spirit had been distilled from crystal malt, which is more commonly used in brewing to add colour and body to ales.

Back then I suggested that the spirit itself came from Bushmills but now I'm completely certain.  

Fast forward a year or so and here we have their brand new Celtic Cask Ocht.  The Celtic Cask Ocht, at 23 years of age, is quite simply the same whiskey as Celtic Cask Sé but with a year or so longer in the fantastic Anima Negra cask.

Further information provided, for the anoraks amongst you, told us that the cask was 225 litres, made from French Alier oak and the wine, it held previously, was in the barrel for 20 months. 

When I received this sample I did wonder how much more influence the extra year was going to put into the whiskey and I looked forward to getting stuck in as I had really enjoyed the Celtic Cask Sé.

Without further ado here's my notes:

Nose - Deep red and black fruits, blackcurrant, strawberry and redcurrant.  There's a lovely buttered nuttiness running through this which is creamier than I recall in the Sé.  Ripe banana and Christmas spices.  Some menthol and a hint of peppermint.  Deep dark chocolate orange.  In the background you do get a slight sense of age with some dusty citrus lemon and orange coming through.

Palate - As with the Sé, this is a huge juicy arrival.  Tons of rich red fruits which are extra sweet with the malt.  Light clove spice and some red apple.  Dusty leather comes towards the end with rich orange.  Drying towards the very end with more creaminess throughout.

Finish - Lightly spiced red fruit that drys and lingers wonderfully.

Overall this is still a big red fruit beast of a dram!!  Fantastic berry flavours run throughout this whiskey as it has clearly taken to the cask extremely well.  The Ocht for me is every bit as good as the Sé and then some.  What I found surprising with the Ocht is that it displayed a layer of creaminess, that wasn't obviously apparent to myself in the Sé, and this has easily added an extra dimension to the whole experience.  

As with the Sé this is not a heavy sherried style whiskey but is beautifully light and fresh for 23 years of age.  The Bushmills spirit works wonderfully when treated with the respect it deserves........COME ON BUSHMILLS, SORT YOURSELVES OUT!!!

The Ocht comes in at roughly £170 compared to roughly £150 for the Sé and for me if you're willing to spend £150 you may as well throw in an extra £20!!  

Yet again the Celtic Whiskey Shop have pulled out all the stops to bring us high quality Irish whiskey that's been finished to high, high standard!!

Well there you have it, the first review of what promises to be a fantastic and exciting year.  I hope you all stick with me for the journey.

As always I've thrown in a few relevant links below for you to peruse at your leisure and if you fancy another look at my review of the Celtic Cask Sé you can do so by clicking right here.

Until next time,

Sláinte

SI

Celtic Whiskey Shop - http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com

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

Celtic Whiskey Shop Twitter - https://twitter.com/Celticwhiskey

  

Whisky Live Dublin 2014 - Review

A few weeks ago I brought you a bit of a preview of Whisky Live Dublin, which took place in the Mansion House, Dawson Street on Saturday 25th October 2014, and now it's only right that I give a brief review too.

Needless to say it was one hell of a day with more stalls than ever before and a bumper crowd of enthusiasts all enjoying the many delights on show.

Now I have to be honest and state that I didn't quite get the chance, during the show, to get tasting notes down but I shall take you around some of the stalls on show and highlight some of the drinks to keep an eye out for in the near future.

Kilbeggan Distilling Company - Their new 21yo blend has now been released and is as smooth as you'd expect to find from Cooley distillery.  Also of note is that the Greenore 8yo is now named Kilbeggan and the Kilbeggan 18yo is now in a Greenore shaped bottle.  The Greenore shaped bottle is now used across a lot of the range and is obviously going to be key in their marketing going forward.

Echlinville Distillery - You may remember a while back when I got excited at the return of the Dunvilles Whiskey brand only to find the first release to be a little lacklustre?  Well everything I had hoped would happen is happening.  After speaking with distillery owner, Shane Braniff, and seeing what direction future releases shall be taking, I can confirm that exciting times are ahead.  A new Dunvilles release should be imminent which shall be an aged single malt (from a distillery unknown), PX finished and bottled at 46%.  All exactly the way it should be for this distillery to make it's mark on the Irish Whiskey scene.  Watch this space for more on these arrivals as and when they happen.

Glendalough Distillery - Up until this event I was only aware of their 7yo single malt but literally as I was taking a quick pre-show look around the Celtic Whiskey Shop a brand spanking new 13yo single malt appeared before my very eyes.  Having tried both I can confirm that both are of good solid quality and extremely well priced in todays NAS orientated market.  If I'm being honest though the 7yo edged it for me but only just.  Furthermore there is some talk of a possible Belfast tasting coming soon but again watch this space and I shall be updating you when I hear any further.

Knappogue Castle - The stand out highlight of the day was their new 14yo, single cask, marsala wine finished, single malt (which is, of course, from Bushmills).  The complexity combined with layer upon layer of flavour was just outstanding and yet again goes to show what Bushmills could be with a little more licence to be creative, hopefully this shall come with their change of ownership next year.  Knappogue also have a 14yo, single cask, burgundy finished, single malt which, while still good, was nothing compared to the marsala finish.

Teeling Whiskey Company - Yet again here in force and pushing their brand new NAS single malt.  A fantastic wee dram and one which I shall be checking out further in the future.  Another taste of their single grain, backed up by their award for Irish Single Grain Whiskey of the year, just confirmed my opinion that it is a class act.

Celtic Cask (Celtic Whiskey Shop) - JUST the three new releases to show off then?  On show was Seacht (Seven), Ocht (Eight) and Naoi (Nine) which was a peated malt.  Stand out of these three was the Ocht which is an older brother of the Sé (Six) which I've reviewed previously but I have to acknowledge that the Naoi has recently picked up Irish Single Cask Whiskey of the year.

Palace Bar & Jack Ryan - Palace Bar 14yo single malt and Jack Ryan 12yo single malt were the two I tried from these companies and have to say both were excellent with the Palace Bar's offering being particularly special.

Ruby Blue Liqueur -  Whilst not a whiskey I believe they deserve a special mention for their presentation of their drinks.  A delicious range of liqueurs which include blackcurrant, wild blueberry, cranberry and chilli pepper (which got my vote for liqueur of the year).  Using real fruit and grain spirit their drinks are clean, fresh and delicious, especially with cocktails.  Well worth looking out for.

It goes without saying that there were far more stands on show but I probably could've went to both the afternoon and evening sessions and still not have seen everything.  

Well hopefully that has given you an idea of what you missed and what to look out for in the near future.  The main point that I took away from this show was that exciting times are ahead for Irish whiskey and judging by the people involved it's reputation is in excellent hands.

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