A beautifully packaged set of 4 single malt single cask dram's arrived for the tasting!
Echlinville became the first new distillery in Northern Ireland for more than 125 years when it received its license and casked its first spirit on 5th August 2013. A genuine farm distillery, all Echlinville’s new make spirit is distilled from barley grown, harvested and floor malted on their distillery farm near the shores of Strangford Lough. Echlinville is a place where the ancient art of distilling is revered, where Irish whiskey heritage is respected, and where tradition has its place alongside innovation in the quest to produce the finest spirits.
The Pot Still and Single Malt whiskeys from Echlinville’s innovative first distillations may have reached the six-year mark, but they will continue to mature in the distillery’s cask warehouse. Whiskey is all about time, and Echlinville are willing to give theirs all the time it needs to be among the best in Ireland, if not the world. Until then they are maturing and bottling sourced whisky from other distilleries in Ireland - Cooley or Bushmills perhaps?
For the tasting they shared two 18yo Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finished whiskies which were launched on the night.
They also sent us two single cask samples finished in Oloroso and Oloroso & PX casks.
All of these drams were matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in ex-sherry casks. Each of these finishes was over 2 years - so really a second maturation rather than a finish?
So what is sherry? The simplest definition is that sherry is a Spanish fortified aged white wine made from the Palomino grape. There are two major styles: those that are biologically aged (under a layer of flor yeast – Fino / Manzanilla type) and those that are oxidatively aged (in absence of flor – Oloroso type). Two intermediate styles exist (Amontillado and Palo Cortado), they start as a biologically aged wine but loose their layer of flor at a certain point and continue their maturation in the oxidative way.
Oloroso and PX are the most popular to mature whisky in, Fino is the driest, PX is the sweetest, and Oloroso falls about in the middle, Palo Cortado is technically a lightweight, delicate Oloroso. Oloroso sherries typically have a rich dark flavor in which you’ll find caramel, walnut, and deep fruit notes. PX sherry is incredibly sweet and you’ll get even darker flavors like toffee, fig, raisin, and molasses.
Enough about sherry - let's have a look at the whiskey!
First up was the 18yo Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish - Cask 1196 at 48% ABV. It spent 15 years in first fill bourbon, then 2 years 4 months in fresh Palo Cortado sherry hogsheads.My thoughts:
Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls cling as a hairline crack taking an age to form thick legs which fall slowly. Initial nose: tropical fruit.
Nose: huge tropical fruit notes - pineapple, mango and apricot - some drying icing sugar notes. Hints of vanilla ice cream and sweet strawberry jam.
Palate: thick syrupy arrival, mouth coating smoothness but lots of chilli spice. The tropical fruit from the nose come through in basket fulls, there's some brown sugar and a huge drying note. Very moreish!
Finish: very dry finish - a little more of the tropical fruity with a lingering chilli spice note. Yummy!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Next up was another 18yo Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish - this time Cask 1203 at cask strength 55% ABV. It spent 15 years in first fill bourbon, then 2 years 4 months in fresh Palo Cortado sherry hogsheads.My thoughts:
Appearance: again dark gold in the glass, again swirls cling as a hairline crack taking an age to form thick legs which fall slowly. Initial nose: dunnage warehouse.
Nose: The additional ABV is giving this a completely different nose - traditional sherry musty dunnage warehouse notes, thick strawberry jam with hints of toffee and brown sugar.
Palate: again a thick syrupy arrival, very smooth, very drying, not as much spice this time. The strawberry jam is joined by a little dry pear. The moisture is literally sucked out of your mouth. A few more sips offer the toffee and brown sugar sweetness from the nose. A little peppery spice on the tongue.
Finish: long lingering toffee sweetness, very dry and a hint of strawberry jam.
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Third was a 19yo Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish - Cask 162 at 55% ABV. It spent 16 years in first fill bourbon, then 3 years 2 months in fresh Oloroso hogshead.My thoughts:
Appearance: dark gold in the glass, swirls form a line of tiny beads which combine to fall as slow thick legs. Initial nose: Musty book shop with a sweet edge.
Nose: Not quite the full on dunnage warehouse, this is a little softer - musty bookshop stuff. A note of strawberry jam and a hint of smoke. Some air releases a sweet orchard fruit note - stewed toffee apples and maybe a hint of walnut?
Palate: again a thick syrupy arrival, super smooth. Initially sweet toffee then the spice kicks in - a lovely peppery note. The high ABV and sherry cask give another drying note but this one is a little sweeter than the previous two - a little orange and jellied sweets. A few more sips offer the toffee apple note from the nose and more of the gingery spice. There's dark fruit too - figs and dates - Yummy!
Finish: long lingering dry spice with a sweet toffee note - nice!
Other tweeter's thoughts:
Final dram was a 19yo Oloroso & PX Sherry Cask Finish - Cask 1717 at 54% ABV. It spent 16 years in first fill bourbon, then 3 years in fresh Oloroso hogshead then 4 months in fresh PX hogsheadMy thoughts:
Appearance: pale gold in the glass again swirls form a line of tiny beads which combine to fall as slow thick legs. Initial nose: Musty bookshop is back!
Nose: Similar to the Oloroso - musty, smoky notes again with a sweeter edge. The strawberry jam is here again and the toffee but the apple has gone, replaced maybe by dried dark fruit - black cherries and figs?
Palate: Again a thick smooth syrupy arrival, this is the sweetest of the four tonight. There is peppery spice and a sweet toffee edge. Brown sugar notes and that high ABV / sherry cask dryness.A few more sips offer red berries, dates and honey.
Finish: long lingering peppery spice with a sweet dry note - red berries and honey.
Other tweeter's thoughts:
So a great night with 4 great whiskies! Many thanks to @talkdram and @DunvilleWhiskey for the opportunity to try these drams!
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