When I first got into spirits it was because of the album “Whiskey for the Holy Ghost” by Mark Lanegan. When I REALLY started to get into spirits, it was because of Bushmills. I always thought of whiskey as something that causes alcohol poisoning or unpalatable until that point. Then I tried Bushmills’ Black Bush at the age of 22 and knew right away how cool whiskey could be.
Throughout my professional and personal career, I have learned so much about the nuances of spirits. It even came to the point where I found most Irish Whiskies (what brought me in this world) to be sharp and amateur.
After years of exploring spirits, I had finally found my home with rum. After being priced out of scotch, realizing how corrupt the agave industry can be, and growing bored of bourbon, I decided to reexplore Irish Whiskey. What brought me where I am today.
I expected it to be a lot of the same.
That was until I came across Walsh Distillery. You might know them best for their Writer’s Tears line, however; their Irishman marks have been more than impressive. Especially their Irishman Reserve Caribbean Cask that came to the U.S. in the last few months.
While many in the whiskey industry have been quick to dismiss the rise of rum (despite the rise of rum/Caribbean cask finished whiskies coming to market), the Irish category has been quick to capitalize and celebrate the rum casks they are using.
Brands like Teeling using Flor de Cana (we will discuss this later) and Plantation have been more than happy to market the barrels they use. And Walsh Distillery is pulling no punches when it comes to the quality of casks that they use.
This brings me to today’s’ review.
“Established in 1999 by husband and wife, Bernard and Rosemary Walsh, Walsh Whiskey is one of the leaders in the Irish whiskey renaissance. It’s exclusive premium and super-premium, triple-distilled, craft, Irish whiskeys – Writers’ Tears and The Irishman – are critically acclaimed and in high demand worldwide.”
What has always impressed me most with the whiskies coming from Walsh was how fresh it was. Every bottle of Writer’s and Irishman I have ever popped was like walking through an apple orchard where everyone was peeling green apples around honeycombs.
So, when I found out that Walsh started finishing their whiskies with Chairman’s Reserve casks from St. Lucia I became very, very, intrigued.
Not only was a whiskey producer using real rum casks as opposed to “rum seasoned” casks (looking at you Balvenie) they were using some of my favorite rum barrels to boot (read me reviews on Chairman’s here).
This whiskey in particular features a unique blend of single pot still and single malt whiskies. If you are familiar with the Irish category, that pretty much narrows the sourced whiskies down to Midleton and Bushmills.
The whiskey was finished for 6 months in Chairman’s casks and is bottled at 46% abv.
Only 12 barrels with an average of 380 bottles per cask were produced. Each personally signed and numbered by Bernard Walsh.
APPEARANCE
The deepest color of amber.
The bottle itself is stout and stubby.
AROMA
The first thing apparent is Walsh’s signature fresh green apples. The rum casks offer more of a freshly baked apple pie aroma. There is a very robust brown sugar, banoffee pie, and an array of wonderful fall spice aromatics that perfume from the glass.
PALATE
The first to hit the palate is a dollop of heavy, creamy caramel. There is an acidity of fresh pineapple (much brighter than the typical overripe/fermented pineapple found in most pure rum) and a wonderfully complex note of malted semi-sweet cereals.
BODY
The non-chill filtration lends a beautiful balance of oil and silk on the tongue.
FINISH
After the caramelized citrus sweetness fades, there is a lingering pop of tannic and spicy ginger pulp. A heavy rum raisin weighs giving balance to the oak influence on the palate.
OVERALL
I am so excited to see a whiskey category that is happy to embrace the influence that used casks can lend to the original spirit.
For as long as barrel-aged spirits have been around, that has been a marketing point for every merchant that has been around.
Even today, in a world, that champions “virgin” casks; the use of secondary casks are used to enhance and promote the quality of the original distilled spirits.
Few brands have been confident enough been willing to make the significant investments when it came to the barrels used for finishing and secondary maturation. Even fewer brands have been transparent enough to state where those used barrels are coming from. I am more than happy to say that Walsh Distillery is now part of the “it” crowd that has achieved a harmony of balance between distillate and cask maturation.
