Composed of single pot still whiskies aged between 13 and 26 years that were originally matured in ex-bourbon American oak casks before being married together and then filled into seven individual Irish oak cask sourced from Knockrath Forest in County Wicklow for two years of additional maturation. Available from earlier this year in selected markets (Ireland, UK, US, France and China) for an RRP of €310.
Nose: Cookie dough and chocolate shavings alongside rolled pastry and brown unfined sugars. These come with the expected selection of bright juicy tropical and stone fruits that pot still whiskey delivers when matured well. Cashews and pecans are joined by vanilla cream filled buns, whilst buttered toast sits with dusty dry earthiness. Water adds sweetness – icing sugar as well as slightly fizzing and mineral baking soda.
Taste: Rather the opposite to the nose. Audacious and cask-driven. Apples and pears alongside apricots and mangos are given a lift from pepper and nutmeg spices. Orange sits in the mid-palate alongside pecan pie, milk chocolate and a developing dusty, dry earthiness. The addition of water reveals a juicy texture and some juicy fruits – much more expressive with stone fruits, but delivered with some chalkiness.
Finish: Long with pepperiness, char and mentholated wood.
Tree 7 of the Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest series presents as an amalgamation of the various nuances you’ll find across the entire series. A soft, sweet and fruit-forward nose – a bolder, spicier and cask-forward palate. Only the addition of water holds this back slightly, offering some strange soda/chalky aromas/flavours which don’t feel integrated or sympathetic to the rest of the expression. Nevertheless, a good finish on this one – and an overall enjoyable ride.