Welcome to the first post of our new Blog.

Leading up to St. Patrick’s Day we had several tastings of Irish whiskeys.

Among the standouts were the Glendalough Double Barrel and the Single Pot Still whiskeys.

Founded in 2011, Glendalough is considered the first craft distilleries in Ireland. The distillery Glendalough , pronounced glen-de-lock, is Gaelic for the glen of two lakes and is located in a narrow glacial valley in the Wicklow mountains, about an hour or so south of Dublin. The distillery produces both whiskey and gin.

Glendalough Double Barrel

This whiskey made only from a small amount of corn and malted barley and has been aged twice – first more than 3 years in American oak Bourbon barrels (ex-Wild Turkey) and finished for six months in Spanish oak Oloroso Sherry barrels.

A very easy drinking whiskey; the flavors start with a hint of sweetness and some vanilla notes from the Bourbon barrels and then finish with flavors of dried fruit, almond, honey and butterscotch from the sherry casks. The finish is just a bit hot, but it is still a very, very drinkable Irish whiskey.

Glendalough Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Pot Still Whiskey is the most quintessentially of the Irish styles of whiskey. And Irish whiskey outsold Scotch whisky until Prohibition. This Pot Still whiskey is made from a 1:2 mashbill of malted and unmalted Irish barley that is triple distilled. It is first matured in ex-bourbon casks, then in Irish Oak felled in the mountains around the distillery. And each cask is bottled separately. While the bourbon cask softens and sweetens the whiskey, the higher levels of flavor in Irish oak complement and balance the classic pot still spices. The whiskey wasn't distilled by Glendalough, although it was distilled to their specification by an unnamed distillery.

The nose is very light with nutty aromas and a sweetness like a soft caramel chew. On the palate the whiskey is soft and velvety, with some weight to it with flavors of Christmas-cake spices, maple syrup and hints of green oak. The higher levels of toasted oak and vanilla flavors that the Irish oak imparts balance the classic flavors of pot still spices of crystallized ginger, cinnamon, raisins and candied citrus. The finish is quite big, with flavors of red berries and toasted oak, creamy vanilla, herbal notes and some lingering spicy flavors of cloves with some green herbal notes.