The West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask is the first in a three-bottle series of 12-year-old Irish Single Malts with cask finishes. This release was aged entirely in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks for at least 12 years and then finished for at least 6 months in rum casks. What kind of rum (sugar cane, molasses, etc) and from where? We don’t know, that’s not information they’ve decided to share; more’s the pity.
However, what we do know is that they’ve put a serious time commitment into these whiskeys to get them out the door. Presumably, the distillery distilled the whiskey itself, aged the casks for 12 years and then held on to them for yet another 6 months before releasing to the market. You have to admire that level of patience in a distillery that’s only 3 years older than this whiskey.
Whiskey Review: West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask
In West Cork’s Words: West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask
“West Cork Irish Whiskey – Cask Finishes – WEST CORK 12YO SINGLE MALT
RUM CASK FINISH
Colour: Magogany Brown
Aroma: Malt, coconut, marzipan
Taste: Malt, floral,dried fruit with lingering vanilla sweetness”
West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask price, ABV, age and other details
Region: Ireland
Distiller: West Cork Distillers
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: ex-Bourbon & ex-Rum
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 43%
Price: $60
West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask Tasting Notes
EYE
Gold
NOSE
Rum sweetness, tropical fruit, malt, vanilla, spice, honey, apples, orange peels and a bit of cocoa.
PALATE
Rum sweetness, tropical fruit, earthy malt, spice, orange peels, apples and a bit of vegetable oil.
FINISH
Long -> Rum, earthy malt, vanilla, honey
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Ok balance, medium body and a lightly oiled feel.
West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask Review – OVERALL
There is a surprising amount of rum in the West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask. Normally I’m a bigger fan of finishing for at least a year to really give the whiskey a layer of whatever you’re finishing in, but in this case 6 months did well and you get a nice rum note. A full year very well could have overpowered this whiskey and rendered it a rum flavored whiskey instead a nicely balanced beverage… or it could have made it better. Who knows.
Aroma, palate and finish carry a nice heavy presence of rum sweetness that gets balanced out by the fruitier and earthier single malt in a pleasant manner but it’s missing some depth. Evrything feels rather topical and it ends up not being gripping enough to get it to the next level. Close, but no B+ cigar Mr. West Cork 12 Year Old Rum Cask… close.
SCORE: 86/100 (B)
