Irish whiskey is enjoying a huge resurgence as of late, and personally, I’m all for it. I’m also certain I’m not alone in my sentiments either.
Irish whiskey, by its nature, is often considered smoother, creamier, and oilier to most Scotch whiskies. It also typically undergoes a triple-distillation, resulting in a silky smooth finish, with elevated notes of fruits and cereals.
While Irish whiskey often plays second fiddle to Scotch here at Great Drams, I’ve still got quite the soft spot for an Irish dram and jump at any chance I get to enjoy a wee sample or two. Not too long ago, I found myself in Belfast at the McConnell’s Distiller, where I was invited to participate in a tasting session of three of their most popular expressions, along with a new make of theirs.
Here are my thoughts on the four drams we got to sample.
McConnell’s New Make Whiskey
Kicking things off at the tasting, we were treated to a dram of McConnell’s ‘New Make’ whiskey, which came in at a warming 50% ABV.
What I really loved about their new make spirit was the fact that they emphasised the importance of the different senses and stimuli when crafting this amazing wee dram. Temperature, climate, aroma, appearance, and so much more besides all play such an important role in determining how a whiskey should taste.
Mouthfeel and texture are very important when crafting whiskey, and the team at McConnell’s have really picked up on this with this dram. They set out to craft a whiskey with “legs” or “tears” as it is also known. These serve as an indicator of a whiskey’s thickness, or oiliness, and alcohol content. Once the whiskey is swirled in the glass, tiny droplets, or “tears” will run down the glass. The slower they fall, the oilier the mouthfeel will be.
This dram smelled incredible, which is not surprising considering McConnell’s state that as much as 70% of the whiskey’s taste comes from the smell. I picked up strong notes of blackberry and liquorice to start with floral honey notes, vanilla ice cream, and summer berry jam.
On the palate, a warm up sip was recommended due to the high ABV, and boy, were they right. It was harsh for an Irish dram, but not as harsh as I was expecting. It also quickly dissipated. A second sip yielded strong vanilla and blackberry jam flavours, tied together beautifully by slightly aromatic notes. I, along with several others, also picked up malty, grainy, cereal notes that balanced out the tart fruity flavours perfectly. It reminded me of an autumn/winter berry crumble, doused in lashings of vanilla custard.
The finish was very leggy, with wonderful mouthfeel. It almost felt like syrup in the mouth. Again, plenty of blackberry with notes of raspberry, and perhaps a hint of lightly roasted oak.
McConnell’s 5 Year Old Irish Whiskey
Up next was McConnell’s 5 Year Old Whiskey. This is the heart and soul of the distillery, and although it sounds cliché and cheesy, you can almost taste the love in this dram.
Matured for 5 years, and made from a combination of 40% single malt and 60% grain whiskey, it has been aged in carefully selected first-fill ex Bourbon casks to impart those trademark toffee and sweet vanilla notes you get with a fine Bourbon. It had an amazing deep amber hue to it, which I really liked.
On the nose I picked up a peppery spiciness, almost like that which you would get from a rye whiskey. There were also tropical fruity notes here, then the vanilla made its presence felt.
On the palate, I picked up earthy fruits, butterscotch, more vanilla, honey, and more than a suggestion of toasted oak shavings. There was also a light citrus taste to it.
The finish was drawn out and as smooth as you might expect. Ripe fruits linger, coupled with more vanilla and sweet, spicy oak.
McConnell’s 5 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish
Up next it was time to sample their 5 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish. Being a fan of sherried whiskies myself, I was especially excited to try this dram.
This whiskey spent five years in ex-Bourbon barrels before a finishing period in the finest Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. This imparted an amazing copper colour and some fantastic sherry notes.
On the nose, strong notes of macerated oranges and caramelised sugars. These were complimented by sweet iced fruit cake, dark chocolate, malted biscuits, and raisins. The sherry casks also imparted a wonderful aroma of leather and tobacco, which worked beautifully with the sweet and spicy sherry notes.
On the palate, more of those sherry influences made their presence felt. There was a strong taste of orange zest, figs, raisins, sultanas, dates, and walnuts, closely followed by summer berry compote, toffee apple, autumn spices, and apple cobbler.
The finish was fairly short, yet left a wonderfully sweet mouthfeel, heavy on demerara sugar and Christmas cake.
McConnell’s 20 Year Old Old Cromac Collection
Finally, we wrapped up our tasting session with our McConnell’s 20 Old Cromac Collection.
This dram was released to pay homage to their legacy. Built in 1899, and situated along the banks of the River Lagan in Belfast, the Old Cromac Distillery was once the home of McConnell’s Irish whiskey, until 1938 when it sadly closed down. This dram was released in its honour.
This is a special dram. Aged 20 years in a combination of bourbon and port casks, it has a gorgeous crimson hue to it. Due to its nature, there is limited availability here, so if you want a dram for yourself, you will need to act fast.
On the nose strong peachy notes here. I got peaches and evaporated milk, combined with white chocolate, nectarines, and ripe strawberries. Seriously, the smell of this dram was incredible.
On the palate, the excitement continued to come. Strong crème brulee and creamy rice pudding with a dollop of raspberry jam in there for good measure. Another taste yielded melted milk chocolate, apple pie and custard, and a light dusting of white pepper.
The finish was elegant and complex. I picked up juicy kiwis, ripe mango, sweet oak, cinnamon sugar, and heavily butter porridge oats.
Wow! What an amazing trip and what an amazing tasting experience.
If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at what we have to offer.
With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.