Punters pour into the third annual Cork Whiskey Fest

Punters pour into the third annual Cork Whiskey Fest

Cork people are not renowned for punctuality, arriving late to restaurants, doctors, and dentists, not to mention traffic lights.  Perhaps the run of "Cork time” is going to peter out. Last Friday, MacCurtain Street was a lesson in punctuality. At 7:30 PM, it was buzzing with activity and anticipation. 

If you weren't aware of what was happening, you might have wondered about the long, good-humoured queue stretching from the western end of the Metropole to the door of the Wine Cellar. It was for the opening of the Cork Whiskey Fest. And what time did it start? At 7:30, of course! Not only were people on time, but quite a few arrived slightly early! Turns out, whiskey waits for no one. Or should that be the other way around?

Conor Ryan of Pearse Lyons

And then we were in, with hard-working organisers Laurie and Sonya scanning the tickets. The organisers were well prepared, and so too were the exhibitors, some forty of them from all over Ireland, including Croithlí from the Donegal Gaeltacht.

But the first focal I noticed was in Latin: Quercus. I knew that one! Quercus Suber is an oak from which the corks for wine bottles are produced. Croithlí (Crollys) had one of their Gaelic spirits finished in three different oaks: Quercus Petrea, Alba and Robur. Alba is the American white oak, while Robur is the European version. The Irish tree Petrea is also known as Sessile Oak, and that sweet woody oak was prominent on the palate.

Crollys are in northwest Donegal, and nearby towns include Dunfanaghy and Dungloe, while the impressive Errigal Mountain is also a neighbour. If you are in the area, which is a rather beautiful part of the country, why not visit the distillery? Information on tours here.  Indeed, many of Ireland’s distilleries are in picturesque regions.

Kinsale was well represented by Blacks and Kinsale Mead, along with Conor Ryan, the Kinsale-based Conor Ryan, who is production manager at the beautiful Pearse Lyons distillery in Dublin's Liberties. I enjoyed the chat with Conor, who was busy showing their whiskeys. You’ll find the Lyons distillery in a renovated old church, with stained glass windows showing the distilling process. I visited myself a few years back, and you can see some details and pics here.

Blacks are producing both spirits and beers these days, having started out as a brewery. Highlight here was a taste of their First Flight Single Malt, the inaugural and impressive release. They have a fantastic new building on the waterfront where, in a first for Ireland, the brewery and distillery are colocated. They have a range of tours to offer, and you may get details here…. Must do that myself soon!

You might be wondering why Kinsale Mead was here. Well, their new Wildflower Irish Mead is aged in Irish Oak Whiskey Casks from Midleton Distillery, and it is a beauty! Hard-working founders Kate and Denis are very excited about this one and the contribution of the oak: “Wildflower Mead, aged in the Midleton casks, has taken on a lovely extra bright flavour, the floral notes from the Irish honey are really accentuated.”

Portmagee's John Murphy

"It finishes beautifully with balanced hawthorn, apple, and delicate whiskey notes. ..The taste of Ireland." Kinsale Mead also offers guided tours, very interesting ones indeed. Info here.

West Kerry, another beautiful area of the country, was doubly represented by neighbours Portmagee and Skellig Six 18. John Murphy was showing Portmagee's three rum-finished whiskeys, the blended bottle, the single pot still, and the limited edition aged 9 years, all under the general title of Spioraid na Mara (Spirit of the Sea). They have an unusual 360-degree Immersive tour in their unusual venue, a trio of three-storey tall geodesic domes. Info at www.portmageewhiskey.com 

Skellig Six 18 Commercialisation Manager Cathal O’Connor had a range of spirits “from the edge of the world,” and very good they were also, especially the Triple Cask Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. Matured in ex-Bourbon barrels and finished in PX Sherry and ex-peated Scotch casks, this was voted the best Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey at the 2024 Berlin International Spirits Competition. More info here.

Kate and Denis of Kinsale Mead

It was lovely to meet with the folks from Longford’s Lough Ree distillery and Bart’s Irish Whiskey, their first blended release. There are three versions: Bart’s (sweet, fruity and spicy), Bart’s XS (sweet and fruity) and Bart’s XP (smoky and fruity).

The West Cork Pot Still is a beauty from Bourbon casks. I knew that anyhow. They also had a cask strength version, and it carried the much higher alcohol very well indeed, but I’d still go for the regular strength one. I also enjoyed the Single Malt Irishman, which is produced by Walsh Whiskey, who also does the popular Writer’s Tears series.

So what was my top whiskey overall? Oh, by the way, I didn’t taste every single one! My vote goes to the Glendalough Irish Single Malt Mizunara Finish. Mizunara is a rare and exotic Japanese oak and is also expensive. The seven-year-old retails for about €90. 

Quite an evening in the Metropole, where the 3rd annual festival kicked off its booked-out whiskey weekend. A superb event now firmly in the Cork calendar, and well done again to Laurie and Sonya.

Patience Pays For Dunville’s And Echlinville Distillery

Patience Pays For Dunville’s

And Echlinville Distillery

 We were told to expect sherry bombs from Dunville’s Jarlath Watson (right) during Sunday’s masterclass in Cask. No shortage of sherry influences but it seems Dunville are more about patience.

The patience is required to keep their spirit in cask until it is good and ready to go. And then they have a good steady climate (no extremes) in their corner of the Ards Peninsula, more temperate than even areas quite close to them.  

And Jarlath also spoke about the land, part of their own particular terroir. “We are a fifty acre working farm… we grow all our own barley… it is floor-malted (not the most economical method!)." And everything is done within a three mile radius. Thanks to their use of various sherry casks (an endangered species, by the way), they have many different expressions from their own micro-terroir.

This is all centered around the Echlinville Distillery. But while you can get Echlinville gin, you’ll have to wait for their whiskey. The makers have patience and that will have to extend to the customers! Maybe something later this year, if they are ready!

Dunville's is a old Belfast brand that they got in 2011 and fills the gap while waiting for Echlinville very own whiskey. All spirits for the Dunville are bought in and finished in sherry casks. Dunville’s has quite a fascinating story. Founded in 1808 and originally produced at the Royal Irish Distilleries in Belfast, Dunville’s was was among the world’s most famous whiskey brands until the distillery fell silent in 1936. Read more here.

Ready to roll in Cask

Now it is back and we started in Cask with their Three Crowns, an average age of 7 years, 70% grain and 30% malt “married after five years”. “It is lazy, mellow, chilled out, a light breakfast whiskey,’ said Jarlath, jokingly or not I don’t know!

Sherry didn't really feature in the next whiskey. This cask sample came via Dick Mac’s in Dingle where the casks had been used to produce the Kerry brewery's Honey & Hemp IPA. When they came back to Echlinville, they were filled and left for an expected six months. But they decided to keep it for another two years. Now they feel it is really finished and you may well be able to get their honey prominent whiskey in a couple of months.

Sample #3 was a favourite of mine, and quite a few others, and it is in bottle but you’ll have to travel to Fairley’s in Coleraine to get it as it was especially made for their “very old bar”. It is a 13 year old whiskey, raised in sherry casks from the bar, weighs in at 57% and is very impressive indeed.

On then to another different take, a whiskey made in a rather special Armagnac cask from Gascony (warning: don’t ask for Cognac if you’re in that area). Again Jarlath is expecting more from this one and is gambling on another two years, knowing that patience pays off sometimes as it did with the IPA.

“The big hitters are coming now,” said Jarlath as he introduced a 22-year old whiskey that has spent its last 6.5 or 7 years in Palo Cortado casks. Palo Cortado casks are very scare. “For every 6,000 bottles of sherry sold, just one is PC.” But going by this gorgeous drop, they are worth seeking out!

A 20-year old followed having spent the last 4.5 years in Oloroso cask and came with all the Christmas cake aromas and flavours you’d expect. And it was here that Jarlath reiterated their patient approach: “We don’t put it out too early. We keep it until ready… and then it should be excellent.”

There was one for the road and it was amazing. It was a 21-year old (finished for 3.5 to 4 years in Pedro Ximenez cask). The sweetness of the PX was a  feature of course but the distillery achieved a perfect balance. One to savour as we hit MacCurtain Street, the home of the superb Cork Whiskey festival 2023. Here’s to 2004!

Spots Star At Cork Whiskey Festival.

Spots Star At Cork Whiskey Fest

Taking us to the high Spots at Gallaghers is Midleton Whiskey Ambassador Ger Garland

I met three of the Spots at the inaugural Cork Whiskey Festival, all part of a stellar masterclass in Gallaghers Gastro Pub where Midleton Legend Ger Garland and Brand Ambassador Matthew Smith guided us through the selection along with  some of their finishing wines.

My conclusion? That Green Spot is amiable, ideal for chillout moments if rather innocent and playful (a morning sip said Matthew). Yellow is more grown up, a little edgier (just a tad). Red is smoother, more sophisticated. By the way, if someone said to me "you can have the Green only" I would not be at all disappointed. 

And that 12-year old sherry turned out to be an unexpected favourite! Perhaps not that unexpected as Lustau is my favourite sherry.

The line-up at Gallaghers

The story of the Spots began under the hustle and bustle of cobbled Dublin streets in the early 1900s where a single pot still Irish whiskey brand was quietly making a name for itself. The first of the branded spots didn’t appear until the 1920s.

Mitchell & Son matured their whiskey in casks in a network of underground cellars. When the fortified wine casks were filled (exclusively with new make spirit from Bow St. Distillery) and brought back to Mitchells, they were marked with a daub or ‘spot’ of paint which identified how long they would be matured for. Blue for 7 years, green for 10 years, yellow for 12 years and red for 15 years – hence the name Spot Whiskey.

Matthew

These along with the Green Spot Wine Geese series as well as limited editions such as Gold Spot make up the full selection of Spot Whiskeys. At Gallagher, we enjoyed the Green, the Yellow and the Red.

Back in the days when distillers sold barrels of whiskey direct to customers who finished them in their own way, there was a lot of variation in the market, according to Matthew.

The bonding business thrived for decades but was on the way out in the 1960s when the few remaining distilleries, consolidated in Midleton as Irish Distillers, refused to continue the supply barrels. But, as often happens in Ireland (and presumably elsewhere), someone knew someone and through that insider track, Mitchell had their supply continued.

While sherry and fortified wines are often quoted as being the difference makers in the Spots, credit is not always given to the influence of the Spanish oak in which these wines have been matured. This oak (from Galicia), Matthew told us, is spicier, drier and with more astringency, than other oaks.

And there are also different influences as we move from Spot to Spot though all are Pot Still. The first difference is ABV: 40% for Green, 46% for Yellow and Red. The second is age, 10 years for Green, 12 for Yellow and 15 for Red. All are matured in Bourbon and Sherry casks but there is a third cask used in the case of Yellow (Malaga wine) and Red (Marsala wine from Sicily). All these factors add to the variety in Irish whiskey even if Spot, though well-loved, is not a large share of the overall market here. Prices too go up as you move from Green to Red!

Ger 

Green Spot with its light and delicate nose and flavours and silky mouthfeel is, like all the Spots, produced in Midleton. It weighs in at 40% ABV but the Cask Strength version, that we also tasted, has a hefty 59.1%. Ger said it is quite potent and hinted that you may need to add a drop of water!

Ger was very much taken with the 12-year old sherry and so was I. “Amazing with Gubbeen smoked cheese or their smoked sausage,” he advised. “With its nutty nose and rich flavours, it is a nice interlude on our whiskey journey today.”

Now we were on to Yellow Spot. Matthew: “Moving to a sweeter basis. The 12-year statement on the bottle means that the youngest whiskey in the product is 12 years old, it will also contain older.” He indicated that those with a sweet tooth will prefer the Yellow over the Green. And Ger confirmed that the Malaga wine is very sweet and syrupy, a dessert wine.

Matthew enthused over the Red saying it was fantastic,  with that dessert wine influence now from the Marsala "..darker.. more complex…sweeter..” For me though, it was also smoother than the Yellow. 

While Ger was enthusiastic about the Marsala, I didn’t really fancy it on its own - it was also part of the tasting. But it certainly seemed to do the trick with the Red Spot.

Time now to leave the packed room and head out into the city rain and prepare for another day on the whiskey trail tomorrow. And the good news, after a hugely successful opening night and a string of well attended events on the first day, that insiders are already forecasting that the Festival will be back again next year.

Like to know more about the Spot Series? Then please click here.  

And Single Pot Still? Single Pot Still whiskey is unique to Ireland in general and is regarded as the quintessential style of Irish whiskey. Made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley and then triple distilled in traditional copper pot stills, Pot Still whiskeys are characterised by full, complex flavours and a wonderful, creamy mouthfeel. In order words, your Spots are very good to begin with.

Three Drams, Three Trumps! Plus: Cork Whiskey Fest coming soon!

Three Drams, Three Trumps!

Recently, I came across an early 2021 box from Little Island based Three Drams https://threedrams.com/ie/ . They operate a subscription service, sending you three drams (3C) every month, 2-months or 3-months and follow up with an online discussion where you can join in and get lots of info from the producers. It is an excellent service. My trio, detailed below, were all excellent but it looks as if just the Dingle one is currently available. Then again you may strike it lucky just as I did!

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Cork Whiskey Fest coming soon! Details and tickets here.

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Dingle Single Malt 46.3% ABV

Widely available at c. €55.00

Up to the start of this decade, Dingle had been releasing Single Malts in limited releases, the batches by number. By then though, stock had been built up and they decided this was the time to release a Single Malt that would last into the future (though the intention is to continue to make limited numbered releases available). So what we have here is the core Single Malt and the aim is for continuity, that this particular whiskey will be consistent into the future.

None of this came about by chance. The plan had been there for years. And it wasn’t just stocks of spirit that were required. Dingle style requires predominantly sherry casks and stocks of these rare (and getting rarer) containers also had to secured.

And another element of continuity is the vat where the spirits (61% from those Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, the rest from Bourbon) are matured. There is something of a solera element here as Dingle Master Distiller Graham Coull disclosed on a social media tasting that the vat will not be totally emptied but will “always be topped up”.

He also said that the age of the spirit is in the 5 to 7 year old range and the basis will always be that Pedro Jimenez. “We set our stall out on having a high sherry input so we have relationships to get an ongoing supply of quality casks, not an overnight thing.” Dingle Distillery’s hugely anticipated Core Single Malt release is here to stay. 

This Core Single Malt release has, as you’ve seen, been years in the making and comprises of malt whiskey that has been matured in ex-Bourbon, and PX sherry casks. It is bottled at 46.3% and non-chill filtered. This is a very interesting whiskey in which the component casks come to the fore at different stages.

There’s a striking nose here with a lime zest and crushed mint standing out. Flavours are complex: juicy raisins, Christmas cake and honey, letting you know the major influence of the PX. And the honey and spice linger long. But nothing cloying or heavy here. A well-planned and well executed whiskey, one for the long term!

Killarney 8 Year Old Inaugural Whiskey 46% ABV

Killarney pic

This is the inaugural whiskey from Killarney Brewing & Distilling Company, a premium blend of 8 year-old Irish whiskey, paired with Killarney’s own barrel-aged Imperial stout. A limited edition whiskey, it was finished in their own Killarney small batch Imperial Stout casks. The stout is matured in the same Killarney Whiskey casks and designed to complement the flavours of the whiskey blend. And you do get a large bottle of the stout with the whiskey, at least you did, until the limited issue whiskey sold out!

Only 1092 bottles have been produced of this unique offering and it is in celebration of the year The Annals of Innisfallen (Killarney’s “Book of Kells”) were released. This collector’s edition pays homage to the storied monks of Innisfallen Island, located in Lough Leane, Killarney.

Killarney’s Brian O’Leary says the project was “started years ago” and they began to work on it with renowned distiller Noel Sweeney. While the whiskey was maturing, the company’s new distillery and brewery on the Killorglin road was taking shape, a very impressive complex now that includes a 170 seat restaurant and a fantastic cocktail bar on the roof with splendid views over  the spectacular reeks just to the south.

They wanted their first whiskey to be elegant with the beer barrel playing a role but not being allowed to dominate. It was huge effort but they came up with a very drinkable and balanced whiskey and Brian said there was a great response to it. Nose is fresh and light with hints of white peach and pears, flavours of caramel and banana, malt and chocolate, with a smooth and red apple finish. Light, elegant and subtle, as ordered. Perhaps, they’ll try and replicate it in the near future! Just don’t use my favourite Casey Brothers stout - I want that just as it is!

As I write, the Fossa complex is not quite completely open - no tours yet - but you can book a meal in the restaurant and the tap room is also up and running. Keep an eye on their social media for opening times; tours are due to start soon.

The whiskey, which is now sold out, cost €99.95 (including a large bottle of the stout).

Thomond Gate Miguel Hogan 60.11% ABV

Nick Ryan, founder of Thomond Gate Whiskey, has many interests and one is history. And that was how this whiskey came to be known as Miguel Hogan.

Colour is a fairly rich gold with tints of rose. The aromatics are quite a mix, mainly fruity, but also creamy vanilla, honey, even wine gums, all at play. Busy too on the palate with spicy cinnamon and sweet honey, more fruit (pears, grapes) and no real let-up as the finish lingers on. Very interesting balance between the grain and the ruby port cask. Doesn’t drink like a sixty per-center!

Nick Ryan: “Very much a Limerick brand… this is something I wanted to bring back to Limerick.. to put it on the whiskey map. Very pleased to have been able to source from Great Northern.”

And it was also in Great Northern that he, with help from the crew there, found the Ruby Port pipe. “It is straight from the cask, this is full character, big fruity nose… Taste it a bit and then add a drop of water.”

Oh yes, that magic drop of water. It never fails. Just a few carefully counted and inserted drops and everything is enhanced, especially in the mouth where the fruit, spice and honey seem to find a brio that had been in waiting for just a drop of the old H2O.

And Miguel? “..Galloping Hogan, the rebellious hero from the parish of Doon, Co. Limerick. Having following the Irish Brigade to France (in 1691), his service in the French Army was cut short. After duelling with his cousin, he left for Portugal under the punishment of death. Known as Miguel Hogan, his renowned night-time manoeuvres, perfected in the defence of Limerick, were quickly put to good use. In memory of Miguel Hogan and the blood he shed for Portugal, we have sourced a Single Malt Whiskey, which has been finished in a Ruby Port Cask. A tribute to his rebellious spirit, which found hope and peace in his adopted home and with a Portuguese marriage.”

And another little bit of history. “It has been 100 years since Limerick had its own whiskey and in memory, we pay homage to the long lost distillery of Thomond Gate which sat on the banks of the River Shannon between 1809 and 1919. The distillery was named after the fortified city gate which in times before the building of John’s Gate in 1494.”

Thomond make small batches (often just a cask) and release just a cask at a time. If you are (very) lucky enough and come across a bottle of this one on sale, it will set you back around €100.00.