It was a breezy evening in Los Angeles when the Malt Nuts got together to sip on Irish single malts and hear the tale of Cooley from their magnanimous brand rep. Kosher food was served, the tale of distilling being brought from the East to Ireland by monks and then further spread via those monks was told. As night slipped over our tables the whiskey consuming and contemplating began.
The first round was drunk imbibed without being blinded and Eanna walked us through what made them unique and how they were created. Questions were asked, jokes were made and the mood set for a fun and lively tasting which broke out into the following rounds.
Malt Nuts: Irish Single Malts Rounds
- Limited release celebrating the oldest pub in Ireland and the core Teeling line + Connemara
- Low proof Irish Single Malts
- Cask Strength Irish Single Malts
- Cask Strength Irish Single Malts with barrel finishes
As always the whiskeys (minus the first round) were done blind with the only person knowing what’s in the lineup is head Malt Nut Barry. The notes below reflect what I wrote during the blinded tasting. Now let’s dig in.
Malt Nuts: Irish Single Malts – Limited release and the core Teeling line + Connemara
Pre: Sean’s Bar Irish Whiskey: 40%
- Nose: Smells like Bushmill’s White
- Palate: Tastes like Bushmill’s White
- Finish: Finishes like Bushmill’s White
- Overall: C+ (77-79) All I can think of is Bushmill’s White, but that’s also rather fitting as a tribute to Ireland’s oldest pub
1A: Teeling Single Grain Whiskey 5 Years: 46% – ex-Wine Cask
- Nose: Candy sweetness, caramel, vanilla salt water taffy, grainy sweetness, toffee, nuts, dark fruit leather, spice and earth.
- Palate: Caramel, grainy sweetness, vanilla salt water taffy, toffee, banana, apricot, nuts, spice, cocoa and an earthy herbal.
- Finish: Long -> Nutty, caramel, spice, cocoa, and dried fruit
- Overall: B (83-86) I’ve always enjoyed this whiskey, it’s an elegant grain whiskey that shows what you can do with grain when it’s treated with the care you would a single malt.
1B: Teeling Small Batch: 46% – ex-Bourbon & ex-Rum (6 months)
- Nose: Dried fruit, malt, dark fruit, toffee, malty sweetness, banana, apricot, brown sugar and grains.
- Palate: Malt, honey, banana nut muffin, caramel, dried fruit, spice, dark sweets and vanilla taffy.
- Finish: Medium -> Banana nut muffin, dried fruit and brown sugar.
- Overall: B (83-86) See, blended Irish whiskey doesn’t have to be so boring. It doesn’t have to all be 40% chill-filtered and taste like little more than honied fruit.
1C: Teeling Single Malt: 46% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Orchard fruit, honey, dried red fruit, malty sweetness, caramel, bananas, Red Vines and spice.
- Palate: Malt, bananas, graham, apples, honey, spice and dried fruit.
- Finish: Long -> Dried apples, banana, caramel and malt.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) I never don’t love this whiskey. It’s a reliably delightful dram
1D: Connemara Cask Strength: 57.9% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Wax, honey, plastic, smoke, fruit, malt, candy, spice and citrus peels.
- Palate: Peat, charred plastic, orchard fruit, malt, vanilla, spice and brûlée.
- Finish: Long -> Peat, spirit, malt, fruit, vanilla, plastic and spice
- Overall: C (73-76) Yeah… still not a big fan of this one.
Malt Nuts: Irish Single Malts – Low proof Irish Single Malts
2A: Tyrconnel 15 years Madeira Finish: 46% – ex-Bourbon & ex-Madeira
- Nose: Fruit, malt, apricots, toffee, honey and Sunkist candy.
- Palate: Malt, fruit, wine notes, Sunkist candy, honey and spice.
- Finish: Medium -> Malt, oats, fruit and honey.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) Man, this is good, the wine notes in it add nicely to the overall complexity of the whiskey.
2B: Murray McDavid Cooley 11 years (92-04): 46% – ex-Bourbon
- Nose: Floral, malt, toffee, honey and a plasticy peat.
- Palate: Peat, malt, toffee, citrus, honey and candy.
- Finish: Medium -> Malt, toffee, honey and peat.
- Overall: B (83-86) This is interesting. I thought it might be a Connemara, but turns out to be an indie… that was likely a sourced Connemara barrel.
2C: Knappogue Castle 16 years Twin Wood (95-12): 40% – ex-Bourbon & ex-Sherry
- Nose: Touch fruity, malt, plastic, Sunkist fruit gems and nuts.
- Palate: Malt, fruit, honey, toffee, char, milk chocolate and fruit gems.
- Finish: Medium -> Malt, fruit, toffee and fruit gems.
- Overall: B (83-86) Weirdly candy fruit, like a banana dipped in sherry or something. No actual “sherry” notes, but more the sweetness.
Malt Nuts: Irish Single Malts – Cask Strength Irish Single Malts
3A: Single Cask Nation Cooley 13 years (02-15): 54.8% – Refill Oloroso Butt
- Nose: Fruit, malt, honey, toffee, Cheerios, fruit gems, smarties and some nuts and spice.
- Palate: Fruit, malt, honey, toffee, Cheerios, fruit gems, smarties and some nuts and spice.
- Finish: Long -> Fruit, malt, and toasted nuts with a bit of extra sweetness.
- Overall: A- (90-92) Yeah, this good stuff. A rich malt laden with juicy fruit notes.
3B: Exclusive Malts 13 years Single Malt Irish (02-15): 54.2%
- Nose: Flour, fruit, oil, graham, spice, toffee, malt and fruit candy.
- Palate: Fruit, oil, nuts, graham, spice, toffee, malt, honey and bit of copper.
- Finish: Long -> Fruit, nuts, graham and spice.
- Overall: A- (90-92) Wow, another stunner. Two in a row, so far this is a hell of a flight. So much going on in these last two.
3C: Black Adder A Drop Of The Irish: 60.4%
- Nose: Pine-sol, oily herbal, honey, stale spice and vanilla spirit.
- Palate: Pine-sol, oily herbal, honey, stale spice and vanilla spirit.
- Finish: Medium -> Pine, herbal and raw spirit.
- Overall: D+ (67-69) Well it was a nice run while it lasted, yikes this is bad. It’s harsh and made me think of the Mad March Hare Potcheen… but worse. I think this was aged in a like a 45th fill cask.
3D: Black Adder A Drop Of The Irish 8 years (08-16): 58%
- Nose: Toffee, spice, honey, plastic and dried fruit.
- Palate: Fruit, malt, honey, plastic and dried fruit.
- Finish: Medium -> Malt and fruit.
- Overall: B (83-86) Could be because I’m tasting it right after 3C, but this good. Boring and rather “plain Jane”, but at least it doesn’t taste like bad Potcheen.
3E: Old Master’s Peated Irish 13 years (92-05): 59.6%
- Nose: Peat, fruit, vanilla, malt, banana, rotten veg and new make.
- Palate: Peat, fruit, raw spirit, mineral water and banana oil.
- Finish: Long -> Peat, banana oil and mineral water.
- Overall: C- (70-72) Wow, this is almost as bad as 3C. It’s just raw, like it was put in a tired, worn out cask and forgotten about for a while.
Malt Nuts: Irish Single Malts – Cask Strength Irish Single Malts with barrel finishes
4A: Exclusive Malts Single Malt Irish 13 years (03-16): 54.2% – Refill Sherry Hogshead
- Nose: Honey, malt, cinnamon, dried fruit, raisins and oil
- Palate: Honey, malt, dried fruit and char with bits of bubblegum and toffee.
- Finish: Medium -> Char, dried fruit and malt.
- Overall: B (83-86) A bit tart and bitter but some good malt and fruit tones help even it out.
4B: Black Adder Drop Of The Irish Rum Finish: 59.8% – ex-Bourbon & Ex-Rum
- Nose: Fruit, malt, kettle corn, citrus and mineral water.
- Palate: Mineral, sulfur, malt, dried fruit and raisins.
- Finish: Short -> Mineral water, butterscotch and malt.
- Overall: B- (80-82) Not good, not bad, just a bit boring.
4C: Exclusive Malts Single Malt Irish 13 years (03-16): 52.7% – Sherry Hogshead
- Nose: Sherry, dried dark fruit, sulfur, malt, char, leather and spice.
- Palate: Sherry, dried dark fruit, sulfur, malt, char, leather and spice with a touch of cocoa.
- Finish: Long -> Sherry, dried dark fruit and malt.
- Overall: A- (90-92) Lovely… holy crap this one is a delight. Especially after the last few.
4D: Teeling Brabazon 02 13 years (02-15): 55.6% – ex-Carcavelos
- Nose: Malt, cinnamon, dark fruit, honey, graham and banana.
- Palate: Malt, cinnamon, dark fruit, honey, graham, banana and Canadian Mints.
- Finish: Medium -> Spice, malt and honey.
- Overall: B+ (87-89) This one is also a delight. Just a real honest delight.
What an epic night. Being a huge fan of Irish Whiskey this was a truly exciting night. I learned or re-established that I’m still not an overall fan of Black Adder releases; Teeling consistently puts out great releases; Exclusive Malts and Single Cask Nation pick excellent barrels and on the whole peated Irish whiskey just doesn’t do it for me.
The beauty and elegance of Irish whiskey should never be underestimated and if you haven’t really explored it much, I hope this convinces you to start that journey.
Till next time – Cheers!
