While it looks like I’m publishing the same whiskey twice, this is actually a different cask, with a different ABV. Also, this is not a sherry cask like the previous post. It is, however, the same bottler, the same age and same vintage.

My guess this came out in a batch, and was purchased in a batch too. Generally, this is great stuff, so trying sister casks is not a particularly bad thing!

Based on previous experiences I expect this whiskey to be rather good, but not entirely to my liking, since I’m not the biggest fan of the ‘plastic wine gum bags’ that I generally associate with Irish single malt of this era. Let’s check whether I’m right or not!

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Very gentle and quite heavy on the barley. The sweetness is there, but it’s more like pear drops than the wine gum bags I expected. There’s also some roastiness on the nose, like grilled pineapple. Quite a lot of dried yellow fruit. Apples, pineapples, maybe some oranges too. A bit more timid than the sherry cask that I reviewed recently.

Sip:
The palate is a bit more gentle, and not as dry as I expected. There’s a lot of barley to be found, with a bit of oak, but it’s not overdoing it. Grilled pineapple, dried apples, pear skins. Quite a fruity, and very bourbon-cask-driven, without having too much vanilla in it. There’s some, but it’s not like you’re having boozy custard.

Swallow:
The finish kicks the barley in overdrive, with much more dry notes, and more focus on the roastiness that I found on the nose.

Generally, I have a problem telling the preference between sherry and bourbon casks. As in, because for a review like this I only have one glass of whiskey of the reviewed liquid, I have to go by first impressions. On those first impressions, the sherry casks generally win over the bourbon casks. However, when you’re going through an entire bottle, I generally find the bourbon casks to have more longevity. As in, they stay interesting longer, there’s more to discover and there’s a tad more ‘uniqueness’.

I think in this case that is the situation too. The sherry casks makes for more impact, but when truly thinking about the liquid, I think I like the bourbon cask at least as much. And if I had a bottle, I think I would more gladly go back to the bourbon cask for a contemplative moment.

91/100

Irish Single Malt, 1991-2015, 23yo, 54.9%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams.