Review

Glendalough Mizunara Finish 13 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
46% ABV
$110 – 120
Website

What the Distillery Says
This winner of World Best Irish Whiskey, is now the first, and only, Irish Whiskey released with a Japanese mizunara finish.

Extremely rare, and expensive, virgin Japanese mizunara, comes from Hokkaido, the rugged most northern island of Japan. It is coopered in the south of Japan in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan’s only independent cooperage, by Japan’s oldest cooper. It amplifies much of what is already there while layering on more vanilla smoothness, sandlewood notes and even a little coconut, or gorse flower if you’re from our neck of the woods.

This is a whiskey that’s hard to make. It is unique in terms of what is being done with Irish whiskey and it is very limited. This is one to savor.

The nose: Sweet honeycomb, vanilla, apricot, and citrus.
The taste: Velvety smooth with vanilla, fudge, rock candy, peach and marmalade followed by coconut, cinnamon and cloves.
The finish. Long and spicy with biscuit malts, vanilla, oak and dark chocolate.

What Gary Says
Nose:  Clean and crisp malt, with a slight sour oak note over a hint of citrus-infused sake.
Palate:  Softer entry than expected from the nose; subtle creamy vanilla flan with drizzled honey and cinnamon dusted nuts before picking up with some pepper spice on the backside.
Finish:  A bit short and drying with some pepper notes.
Comments:  This is an interesting dram. If trying blind, I’d have guessed that this was finished in some type of former wine cask (and specifically sake). I wish I had some of Glendalough 13 yr to compare with in order to really narrow in on the cask finish influence. As pointed out in my review of their 7 yr single malt finished in Black Pitts porter casks, Glendalough’s goal of challenging expectations for Irish whiskey was definitely achieved here. I applaud them for their innovation and trying new things. While this doesn’t hit me squarely in my wheelhouse, I applaud their innovation and urge Glendalough to continue trying new things.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank Glendalough for sending us a sample to review.

Glendalough Black Pitts Porter Finish 7 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
46% ABV
$50 – 60
Website

What the Distillery Says
Our 7 year old single malt commemorates the 7 hard years that St Kevin (the guy on the bottle) spent in the wild, and the city of 7 churches he came to build at Glendalough. This single malt has too been shaped by 7 years, and to make it even more special, we finish it in porter barrels.

Dublin is famous across the world for fine stout and porter. We’ve swapped barrels over the years with friends of ours in a local craft brewery, and found their Black Pitts Porter brings our whiskey to incredible depths. Made from roasted, chocolate malt, it really amplifies the malt in the whiskey while bringing dark, rich flavours like cocoa, chocolate and coffee. Their porter spends a year in oak barrels, then we take them and put our 7 year old single malt in for just under a year.

Also, have a look on the label, you’ll see 7 silver crosses. These will lead you to each of the 7 churches, should you ever be stirred into going to Glendalough.

Tasting Notes:
Nose – “Sweet with toffee apples, chocolate and vanilla ice cream.”
Palate – “Smooth and warm with dark chocolate orange, cocoa, toffee and cooked fruit, followed by clove and peppery spices.”
Finish – “Long and spicy with toasted oak, treacle and sweet coffee notes.”

What Gary Says
Nose:  Sweet cereal mash, vanilla with a hint of mint & herbs (maybe thyme?)
Palate:  Crisp but sweet beer malt and caramel cremes, develops a slight spice edge (cinnamon and hint of fruit) as it goes.
Finish:  Short to moderately long, drying with a beer aftertaste.
Comments:  I’m not a beer drinker (I mean – I try different beers every few years to check in with my palate, but just don’t enjoy them). With that, I offer my apologies that I can’t be more specific here – but this definitely brings out a “beer” vibe for me. The nose reminds me of distiller’s beer – if you’ve ever toured a distillery, that smell in the fermentation vats. Whiskey Advocate states that Glendalough’s goal with these new wood finish expressions is “to create different flavor profiles than expected for Irish whiskey.” Mission accomplished! This is certainly a unique Irish whiskey; if given blindly – I wouldn’t have immediately thought “Oh, Irish single malt”. The influence from the porter cask finish gives it a different flavor and finish.
Rating: Stands Out

We would like to thank Glendalough for sending us a sample to review.