Glendalough 13 Year Old Mizunara Single Malt Whiskey
I’ve been meaning to try this Double Barrel release from Glendalough for some time now and finally got around to sitting down and cracking this bottle open. I was intrigued as this is a single grain and usually offers creativity in a relativity unexplored category in Irish Whiskey. Glendalough Double Barrel gets this name as it was aged in ex-bourbon barrels before soaking for a further six month in ex-sherry casks for an extra punch of flavour. After finishing it is then bottled at 42% abv and cut down to size with local, Wicklow Mountain water. This Irish Whiskey has no age statement (NAS) but our research has found it is quite young and between three and four years old. But don’t let it’s age put you off as it is packed full of flavour.
Upon its initial release, this whiskey won double gold at The World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. If you were to try this whiskey at a blind tasting you’d be forgiven in thinking it was an American Bourbon. The Single Grain category is the underdog of Irish whiskey and this release will make you think twice about trying more. If you are a Bourbon drinker and you like your dram sweet, this is the bottle for you. It’s a real honey pot, very drinkable and it’s also complex with a depth of flavour beyond its years. It rips out all the flavour it can from the double aging in barrels from opposite sides of the world. The American Bourbon Oak barrels bring sweet honey and smooth vanilla notes which are familiar and welcoming. The Spanish Oloroso Oak barrels layer on dried fruit, and nutty flavours.
Tasting notes for Glendalough Double Barrel Single Grain
I have read a few reviews of this whiskey and they have been mixed to middling. I was waiting to be disappointed, but I was happily surprised by a young lively whiskey with interesting layers. If anyone is overly critical of this whsieky remember, it’s only €36 a bottle. They have handpicked the best Oloroso casks, the team at Glendalough went off the beaten track to the small Andalusian town of Montilla, home of the famous PX grape. Here they can talk one on one with producers, chose the bodega, the liquid, the time seasoning, and eventually the right casks.
NOSE
Custard Cream biscuits, that’s where my mind goes when I first nosed this whiskey. It’s the creamy, malty nose that gets your mouth watering. Vanilla icing and toasted oak are the backbone of this whiskey and the fruity sweetness gives it body. With floral notes of lemongrass, citrus, white grapes (possibly pino grigo) and green cooking apples. Sit with this one for a while and you’ll discover cherry, raisin, fig and a pinch of of nutmeg spice.
PALATE
Sweet, stacked on sweet, with a butterscotch smoothness, salted caramel, vanilla icing sugar and white chocolate. Thick decadent honey links all the layers of sweetness with a fruity underlay of orchid fruits. The malty fruitiness is a combination of dessert fruits, maraschino cherries, blackberries and candied orange pieces. brown sugar. and peppercorn,
FINISH
Ginger spices a touch of almond and nutty earthiness. Bags of oak and a hint of wood spice linger for a short finish. When you finish your glass, leave it sit for a minute or two and nose it again. You’ll enjoy all the woody notes one last time.
Where to buy: Glendalough Double Barrel Single Grain
If you are in the UK Master of Malt has a good choice of the Glendalough range. If you want to pick up a bottle in Irish try L.Mulligan’s or Celtic Whiskey Shop. Check out our review of their Pot Still release and one of my favorite Irish Whiskeys Glendalough 13 Year Old Mizunara Single Malt.
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#EatDrinkExplore – By Paul Kavanagh