Аромат – мед с билки, тревисти, флорални нотки, дървесност, плодов мирис – кайсии и праскови, ванилия, карамел, сладост, спиртен, ухае на бърбън, слаби сушени плодове, карамелова лакта, постепенно и слабо кафе. Вкус – пикантен, „ментово“ усещане по езика, мед и плодове, сладост, нотка „шкаф“, масло, ликьор и горчивина. Финал – среден до дълъг, пиперлив, слаба горчивина, последвана от сладост, спомен за сушени плодове, масленост, като след минути усещането за сладост се засилва. Още мед.
Оценка: 83-84/100.
Предвид ограниченото количество на този дестилат не съм го срещал в магазинната мрежа и нямам информация за цената.
Kilbeggan 18 y.o. irish whiskey
After the frequent Scottish reviews I decided to diversify with an Irish whiskey made at Cooley distillery, which also is a limited edition – Kilbeggan 18 y.o. irish whiskey. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first whiskey of Kilbeggan brand that I’m presenting, although I have drunk and the base distillate, which can be found at a price of about 20 lv. I know that a some point on the market had been available and the limited series of Kilbeggan 15 y.o. whiskey, but I haven’t met it. But I’ll try to find a sip or two of it. Now a few lines about the brand.
„Welcome to the oldest Irish distillery!“ This is the inscription that awaits you if you come across the official Kilbeggan website. And maybe they are right, as the distillery acquired a legal license in 1757, copy of which can be seen in the building. I don’t know whether it is the oldest, as the Bushmills associate their origin with year 1608 and the name of Thomas Phillips, who received permission to produce whiskey. This doesn’t excite me much. What’s important to me is the product quality, no matter if it comes from a younger distillery. It was founded in 1757 by McManus family in the eponymous town and remained family owned until the early 19th century, then it was purchased by the Codd family. John Locke took over the distillery in 1843 /in his honor Cooley produced Locke’s whiskey/ and the following 50 years were marked by furore and widespread success for the brand. But in the early 20th century, Ireland was torn by civil war and subsequently lost its trading positions, because of the separation from Britain and the subsequent years of economic isolation. The normally strong market for Irish whiskies – USA, introduced Prohibition and this almost destroyed the Irish whiskey production. The Irish, however, justified themselves by stating that the cheap Scottish blended whiskies ousted them from the positions, but did not mention that this is because of the use of innovative column still, which allows almost continuous distillation process of grain whisky for blends, unlike the copper stills, which the Irish were still using for this type of whiskey in those years. And in the middle of the 20th century heirs of Locke found themselves forced to sell it. The new owners were linked to criminals and along with the investigations on this occasion the deal failed. In 1954 production stopped, and in 1957 it closed closing completely for about 30 years. In 1988 the distillery was bought by Cooley Distillery, which restored its original appearance by buying back the copper stills that after the closure were sold to Tullamore Dew. They installed several new stills and in 2010, Kilbeggan became fully combat-ready again. The whiskey which I’m presenting isn’t distilled there. It comes from Cooley Distillery /the other distillery of Cooley/ and is only matured in the old building and its 200-year-old warehouses. I think nowadays the basic Kilbeggan whiskey is produced in the old stately building, which perhaps explains the change of the label and type of bottles. It’s whiskey time!
Aroma – honey with herbs, grassy, floral notes, woodiness, fruity odor – apricots and peaches, vanilla, caramel, sweetness, alcohol, smells like bourbon, a hint of dried fruits, butterscotch with caramel, gradually and slight coffee notes. Taste – spicy, „minty“ sensation on the tongue, honey and fruits, sweetness, a hint of „cupboard“, butter, liqueur and bitterness. Finish – medium to long, peppery, slight bitterness, followed by sweetness, notes of dried fruits, buttery, as after a few minutes the sweetness increases. More honey. Assessment: 83-84/100.
Given the limited quantity of this distillate, I haven’t met it in the stores and I have no information about the price.