The Home of Irish Whiskey

As we’re looking at Irish Whiskey today, it’s only right that we look at the distilling process employed at the Echlinville Distillery in more detail, before looking at the great drams on offer.

As you know, we here at Great Drams love locally produced whiskey with heart, soul, and character. The whiskey produced here most certainly has that, and has that in spades.

Thanks to the unique microclimate on the Ards Peninsula, along with the rich soil, the weather conditions, the barley crops are plentiful, and packed full of flavour. Many industry experts consider it to be one of the best grain growing regions in all of Ireland, and we can see why.

The whiskey, and indeed the gin and poitin (Irish Moonshine) produced here is distilled the old-fashioned way. The barley is malted on the distillery’s malting floor and is turned, dampened, and dried by hand and shovel, just as it would’ve been done centuries ago. It’s these touches, we believe, that help make the whiskey and spirits so delicious and moreish.

Feckin’ Irish Whiskey

We like to think we know a thing or two about whiskey, and despite Scotch being our forte, we’re still very clued up when it comes to Irish whiskey.

Notoriously rich, smooth, and dangerously moreish, Irish whiskey is growing in popularity across Europe with each passing year. It may already have conquered the States, and Europe looks set to be next.

So, which drams offered by the Echlinville Distillery do we recommend? Well, for starters, we have to go with the brainchild of Shane Braniff, which is none other than Feckin Irish Whiskey.

Yes, we love the name too, and we can’t help but think of Father Ted, or rather, Father Jack, who almost surely would’ve loved this dram. Well, considering he was partial to the occasional bottle of Toilet Duck, that’s not saying much, but nevertheless, this is a truly remarkable dram.

At 40% ABV it’s fantastic for those of you who like your whiskey smooth and silky. The natural pale straw colour almost looks like a pinot grigio in the bottle, and yet despite its pale golden hue, this is a dram that’s loaded full of flavour.

On the nose, you should immediately pick up oak with a sprinkling of woodsmoke for good measure. Get your nose in there again and toffee, caramel, and sweet apple pie and cinnamon should shine through.

Take that first sip and you should immediately get warm buttery popcorn, golden heather honey, and warm butterscotch pudding. Once these fade away you should pick up plenty of winter spices, with cloves and cinnamon in particular shining through, accompanied by sweet vanilla and marmalade.

The finish is one to be savoured and is so, so smooth. You should again pick up notes of vanilla and honey, with a touch of oak smoke and lemon zest to finish.

This is a dram that can be enjoyed neat, over ice, or as a mixer. It pairs very well with coke and lemonade in particular.