Connermara Sherry Finish
Single Malt Irish Whiskey
40% abv
£49
$80 (USD)
Thirty years ago, the world of Irish whiskey was essentially a monopoly with the only two distilleries, Jameson (Midleton) and Bushmills, in the hands of just one company. Today, those distilleries straddle two companies, PernodRicard and Diageo and the undeniable catalyst for this, along with the general revitalization of the category, was John Teeling, the businessman behind Irelands third distillery, Cooley.
In 1987 Teeling got in to the whiskey game, converting an old potato spirit distillery into two distilleries for pot still and colum still distillation. This inspired the big boys to get creative (for the first time in 50 years), and rode the wave of Irish whiskey's growing popularity to a success story all his own. With Locke's, Greenore, Tyrconnel, and Connemara, whisk(e)y drinkers who used to turn up their noses at Irish have firmly plopped their beaks deep in the glass (and tails between their legs).
This is the first of the Small Batch Collection from Connemara and all the bottles that they will ever make are out in the market. Once they're gone, they're gone. New release in the series launched last month and the sample just arrived (thank you, Rachel). To be tasted soon...
TASTING NOTES:
Baked fruits, burnt brown sugar, soft sweet impressions overall. Mossy, grassy and moist. Toffee and leather.
Toffeed, orange, spice and smoke, sherry toastiness, turning herbal or grassy again. Long, gentle finish of sherry and smoke and spirit in lovely balance.
SUMMARY:
An IWSC 2009 Gold Best in Class winner, this whiskey is an absolute treat. And drinkable in hearty sips. Dangerous.
Second opinions at Whisky for Everyone
Malt Mission #391
Malt Mission #392
Malt Mission #394
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2 comments:
As a frequent/occasional visitor to Sherry country in and around Jerez de la Frontera in south-west Spain I have had the pleasure of visiting some of the finest bodegas in this area over a period of many years: Gonzalez Byass (who, incidentally, have just opened their new Sherry and tapas bar, Bar Pepito, in Kings Cross – I can heartily recommend it), Harveys, Garveys, Sandeman, and also one or two of the smaller independent cellars that still operate within the old town. However, as a new convert to the wonders of single malts – I know, I know, converts make the worst fanatics, especially when they start late in life - it came as a welcome surprise that there were so many malts which had been finished with Sherry, such as Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez and I understand, even a Manzanilla from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
So while having a few drams of The Macallan Sherry Oak with some friends of mine recently we got to discussing the role of sherry in finishing malt whiskies. Judging by the recent sale of the Macallan 64 year old at auction in Sotheby´s, New York, for the princely sum of 460,000$ it seems clear that Sherry oak casks have played a very significant part in shaping the character of certain malts. According to their website ´the Macallan 64 years old is the oldest Macallan ever released by the distillery in its 186 year old history. It has been vatted from three casks all built from sherry seasoned Spanish oak. The first was filled in 1942, the second in 1945 and the third in 1946).
From what I can tell most single malts can be finished in any one of a variety of American bourbon casks, American and European oak sherry butts, French Limousin oak barrels or even Portuguese port pipes – clearly somethng for all tastes, Old World or New.
As we were sipping away the debate centred on which of the two, sherry or wood, played the biggest role in shaping and defining the malt´s final character.
However, as the evening drew to a close we were still no clearer on which of the two was the major player.
Presumably the wood can be sourced from any forest and then is subejct to the tender loving care of the cooperages in their respective regions: Louisville for Bourbon in Kentucky, Jerez for Oloroso etc in Andalucía, and so on. But what about the liquid itself? Is a Bourbon from outside Kentucky as good/authentic as a Bourbon from Kentucky.
Equally, if the wood comes from a Jerez cooperage can a wine similar to Sherry eg. Montilla from Córdoba, be used to season the butts?
Having looked at the fine array of single malts currently on the market which are labelled as matured in Sherry oak barrels, The Macallan Sherry Oak, Old Pulteney 23 year Old Limited Edition, Laphroaig Three Wood, to name but a few, Sherry seems to occupy a pre-eminent position in the finishing process.
I would be grateful if someone could clarify this matter about the provenance of the respective fillings for both Bourbon barrels and Sherry casks.
Many thanks,
Jon Matthews
As a frequent/occasional visitor to Sherry country in and around Jerez de la Frontera in south-west Spain I have had the pleasure of visiting some of the finest bodegas in this area over a period of many years: Gonzalez Byass (who, incidentally, have just opened their new Sherry and tapas bar, Bar Pepito, in Kings Cross – I can heartily recommend it), Harveys, Garveys, Sandeman, and also one or two of the smaller independent cellars that still operate within the old town. However, as a new convert to the wonders of single malts – I know, I know, converts make the worst fanatics, especially when they start late in life - it came as a welcome surprise that there were so many malts which had been finished with Sherry, such as Oloroso, Pedro Ximenez and I understand, even a Manzanilla from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
So while having a few drams of The Macallan Sherry Oak with some friends of mine recently we got to discussing the role of sherry in finishing malt whiskies. Judging by the recent sale of the Macallan 64 year old at auction in Sotheby´s, New York, for the princely sum of 460,000$ it seems clear that Sherry oak casks have played a very significant part in shaping the character of certain malts. According to their website ´the Macallan 64 years old is the oldest Macallan ever released by the distillery in its 186 year old history. It has been vatted from three casks all built from sherry seasoned Spanish oak. The first was filled in 1942, the second in 1945 and the third in 1946).
From what I can tell most single malts can be finished in any one of a variety of American bourbon casks, American and European oak sherry butts, French Limousin oak barrels or even Portuguese port pipes – clearly somethng for all tastes, Old World or New.
As we were sipping away the debate centred on which of the two, sherry or wood, played the biggest role in shaping and defining the malt´s final character.
However, as the evening drew to a close we were still no clearer on which of the two was the major player.
Presumably the wood can be sourced from any forest and then is subejct to the tender loving care of the cooperages in their respective regions: Louisville for Bourbon in Kentucky, Jerez for Oloroso etc in Andalucía, and so on. But what about the liquid itself? Is a Bourbon from outside Kentucky as good/authentic as a Bourbon from Kentucky.
Equally, if the wood comes from a Jerez cooperage can a wine similar to Sherry eg. Montilla from Córdoba, be used to season the butts?
Having looked at the fine array of single malts currently on the market which are labelled as matured in Sherry oak barrels, The Macallan Sherry Oak, Old Pulteney 23 year Old Limited Edition, Laphroaig Three Wood, to name but a few, Sherry seems to occupy a pre-eminent position in the finishing process.
I would be grateful if someone could clarify this matter about the provenance of the respective fillings for both Bourbon barrels and Sherry casks.
Many thanks,
Jon Matthews
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