Side by side: Tullamore Single Malts

Continuing my exploration of Irish Whiskey here's another interesting side-by-side, two single malts from @TullamoreDEW - the 14yo and 18yo - let's see how they compare?

DEW stands for Daniel E. Williams a General Manager then Owner of the original 19th Century distillery. This distillery closed in 1954 and the brand passed through various hands until 2010 when William Grant & Sons bought it, the whiskey continued to be distilled by Irish Distillers in Midleton.

Tullamore DEW is traditionally a blend of Single Malt, Pot Still and Grain whiskies, a new state-of-art distillery was built in 2014 to take over distillation of single malt and pot still whiskey but currently the grain still comes from Midleton.

Obviously from the age of these drams they were distilled in Midleton.

Dram	14yo	18yo (2,500 bottles)
Characteristics	41.3% ABV, Coloured, Chillfiltered	41.3% ABV, Coloured, Chillfiltered
Distillery info	Our triple-distilled single malt that has been patiently aged for up to 14 years in ex-Bourbon barrels and then finished in 4 different cask types being old ex- Oloroso Sherry Butts, ex-Port Pipes and ex-Madeira Drums for a minimum of 6 months for a perfect balance and then bottled at 41.3% Nose: Vibrant and lively with incredible fruitiness. Ripe apples, sweet citrus and hints of tropical fruit all enveloped in Vanilla Oak. Taste: Beautifully rich and sweet with layers of fruit, oak and subtle spice. Finish: Long lasting sweetness.	Our triple distilled Single Malt whiskey that has been patiently aged in ex Bourbon casks for up to 18 years and then has been finished in 4 different cask types being old Oloroso ex-Sherry Butts, Ex-Port Pipes and ex Madeira Drums casks for at least 6 months. Nose: Rich and oaky with deep malty notes, caramelised fruit and woody spice. Taste: Velvety smooth and mellow vanilla oak notes intertwined with cinnamon, baked apple, toasted marshmallows and biscuit sweetness. Finish: Rich and warming with a lingering malty sweetness
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Coloured... swirls fall as thin slow legs.	Coloured...swirls bead up slowly and fall as then slow legs.
Nose	Fresh with loads of fruit - pears, apples, pineapple - with hints of honey, sherbet and milk chocolate.	A little musty and woody, there is some fruit there but it's dried - apples and pineapple also some interesting smoked orange notes.
Palate	Smooth, syrupy and sweet. Loads of fruit and honey. There's milk chocolate notes and a lovely bite of dry spice as the liquid flows across the tongue.	Similar arrival - smooth syrupy and sweet then an artificial almost metallic note takes over. Tinned fruit, an almost sour cooking apple note and some oak.
Finish	Long and warming with a mild spice note. A little honey and fruit. Yummy!	Spicy, slightly drying with that sweet dried fruit note. The sour note continues - not entirely pleasant.
Overall	There's not too much information as regards the maturation of these drams other than the ages and finishing, I'm going to assume they are identical except for the extra 4 years in ex-bourbon. That extra 4 years has made a huge difference to the nose - fresh and fruity to musty and artificial. The palate and finish follows suit, I don't think the extra 4 years have done the whiskey any favours. It's interesting that they both had the same finish in Sherry, Port and Madeira casks - each could have a profound impact of the whiskey - even for only 6 months but does it over complicate things a bit? The 14yo wins hands down - in my opinion the extra 4 years are just not required and if anything spoils the dram.