Virtual tasting: Dingle Single Malt Batch 6 Tasting

After 8 years Dingle Distillery have released their first core bottling - followed quickly by the final release in it's Single Malt Batch Series - Batch 6

Dingle invited me to take part in a tasting of the new Batch 6

Dingle released their first core bottling in May 2021 (reviewed here), this was the culmination of five previous and this current sixth release in their Single Malt Batch series:

Dingle Single Malt Batches
Batch	Bottled	46.5% ABV bottles	Cask Strength bottles	Maturation
1	Nov '16	7,500	500	Bourbon
2	'17	6,000	500	PX & Oloroso
3	'18	13,000	500	Bourbon & Port
4	'19	30,000	500	Bourbon, Sherry & Port
5	'20	30,000	500	Bourbon, PX & Madeira
6	Oct '21	14,500	1,000	Tawny Port

Distillery notes:

The sixth release comprises of malt whiskey that has been matured exclusively in Tawny Port Casks.. This will be the first such release from Dingle. Bottled at 46.5% and non chill filtered. Fully matured exclusively in Tawny Port Casks, Batch 6 is a great example of the interaction between Single Malt spirit and Fortified wine. A whiskey with multiple layers of sweetness and a well-balanced depth of flavour.

Nose – The Port cask delivers a wonderful intensity. Maple syrup infused waffles, thick cut marmalade, butterscotch, and crystallised ginger.

Palate – Full on fruit and spice. Stroopwafels laced with syrup, redcurrant jelly, crushed cranberries, gingerbread, and dark chocolate.

Finish – Lively with an increasing sweetness. Ginger spice and honeyed dates come to fore.

The tasting consisted of 4 bottles:

Matt Healy from Potstilled live was joined by Dingle Distillery's Head Distiller, Graham Coull, and Global Brand Ambassador, Alan Glynn, to take us through a tasting of the four bottles.

Bottle A contained Dingle 100% malted barley, triple distilled New Make Spirit at 65% ABV

Nose: fresh orchard fruit with some floral, spicy and citrus notes. A little almond and some cut grass and malty hints.

Palate: huge fruit notes - some orchard, some tropical, ABV isn't immediately noticeable. icing sugar dryness and some herbal grassy notes from the nose. A little bit of water opens up the liquid - butterscotch, pear drops, a little aniseed and a lovely peppery spice.

Bottle B contained 6-7yo 46.5% ABV ex-bourbon matured whiskey

Appearance: Pale gold, swirls cling as a thin line and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: vanilla ice cream, citrus zest, toffee, brown sugar sweetness

Palate: smooth sweet arrival, tropical fruit notes : pineapple, kiwi, dried banana and some lemon citrus notes. A lovely bite of peppery spice as the liquid disappears.

Finish: lingering sweet syrup and peppery spice.

Bottle C contained the new Batch 6 Tawny Port matured whiskey, 6-7yo at 46.5% ABV

Appearance: dark gold in the glass with a hint of red, swirls cling as a thin line, slowly form beads and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: hedgerow berry fruit, brown sugar and some vanilla : strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blackcurrants. There's some BBQ meat notes here too and a tiny hint of smoke - cask char maybe?

Palate: immediately warming, berries from the nose alongside some butterscotch and brown sugar notes. The berry fruit dominates with strawberry and blackcurrant notes. There's some cherries and dark chocolate, then it all turns a little tropical with dried pineapple, dried banana and a lovely spicy gingerbread note.

Finish: Lingering berry fruit and dry ginger spice.

Bottle D contained the Cask Strength version of  Batch 6 Tawny Port matured whiskey, 6-7yo at 60.4% ABV

Appearance: dark gold, almost bronze with that little hint of red, swirls cling as a thin line, very slowly form beads and fall as slow thin legs.

Nose: toffee, strawberry jam, musty bookshop - sherry type notes but with a little more red fruit. Like it's undiluted sibling there's some BBQ meat here - a little smoke.

Palate: thick syrupy arrival - chewy even, berry fruit and ginger spice coat the tongue - the ABV isn't evident at all - very drinkable. It's very dry - There's a lot more tropical influence this time - the distillery character shining through - pineapple, mango and kiwi alongside cherries, dates and strawberries. A few more sips and the mouth is stripped of moisture - there's a sour grapefruit note as the liquid disappears - yummy!

Finish: lingering dry berry notes, citrus and ginger spice.

Overall: It was really interesting to try the ex-bourbon against the fully matured tawny port - both of the same age but obviously totally different. Both shared the tropical fruit notes I associate with Dingle, the bourbon adding vanilla and toffee, the port adding berries and dryness. The Cask Strength version turned the dial up to 11, huge berry fruits, huge dryness but still with the underpinning tropical fruit. Dingle is obviously going places and I recommend you try anything from them that you can get your hands on!

Many thanks to Dingle Distillery for the samples and goodies and to Matt, Graham and Alan for the tasting experience!

You can watch the whole tasting here:

One of the extras in the pack was a piece of ex-bourbon oak - an aging stick or #DougsDipStick as it got called.

At 7.30pm on the night of the tasting I poured a large sample of the perfectly clear New Make Spirit into a glass and pit in the stick, this was what had happened 12 hours later: