The Wild Geese Single Malt is a single malt Irish Whiskey that’s supposedly sourced from the Cooley Distillery. Is it actually sourced from there? Who knows.. maybe, maybe not. Though in the end does it REALLY matter so long as they’re honest about not distilling it and delivery a whiskey that’s worth its price? I don’t think so. Exact source is always nice to know, but transparency about sourcing vs distilling and a fair price are things i care about far more.
Don’t get me wrong, it would be great to know exactly where everything comes from, but that level of transparency seems like it’s a bit further in the future for the industry. We can all rant and rail against it, and I definitely plan to keep on doing it, but at some point it does get tiring to talk about it all the damn time. So instead of a rant I’m just going to be glad they didn’t say it came from their grand-pappy’s recipe and happily settle for the fact that they aren’t making crazy claims about distilling it themselves.
Wild Geese Single Malt Info
Region: County Louth, Ireland
Distiller: Cooley
Bottler: Avalon Group
Mashbill: Blend of Irish Single Malt (100% Malted Barley) + Grain Whiskey
Cask: ex-Bourbon
Age: NAS
ABV: 43%
Price: $80
Wild Geese Single Malt Review
EYE
Gold
NOSE
Malt, honey, banana heavy fruit, dried strawberries and a combo of apples, spice and malt that make me think of apple pie. A light touch of vanilla elicits thoughts of pie a’la mode.
PALATE
Malt, banana heavy fruit, freeze dried strawberries, apple pie and a touch of vanilla and honey. A fairly standard palate with a touch of something extra.
FINISH
Long and malty with notes of banana, honey and graham.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Decent balance, medium body and a soft velvety feel.
OVERALL
Wild Geese Single Malt is a decent Irish single malt. By no means is it a killer whiskey and for less than the $80 they’re asking for this you can find MUCH better Irish Single malt on the market today. Sure that wasn’t the case a few years ago, but just last week I reviewed both the Egan’s Irish Single Malt and Teeling Irish Single Malt which are several steps above this in terms of quality and come in $20-$30 less than this.
If you’re looking to expand your Irish Single Malt selection then it’s not a bad buy, but if you’re looking for a good bang-for-your-buck Irish Single Malt then I’d check out one of the two I mentioned above instead. Either one will deliver a greater level of complexity for a lot less money than this Wild Geese Single Malt.
SCORE: 85/100