The Knappogue Castle 16 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey Sherry Finish

Tasting notes:
The initial hit this dram offers on the nose is, oddly enough, simultaneously slightly musty/musky and rather clean. And it’s clean in a way that’s somehow less than optimal–like the best member of Hanson. MmmBop. But once you dig down past that opening, there is a panoply of other notes: urethane wheels on a longboard for Shaun White, freshly sanded white pine the second before the lacquer hits it, fluke tacos in a ski chalet, and mint leaves rubbed on a dining room chair that has ball and claw legs. Wow, what a wild nose! Like Apollo chasing Daphne, I’m sure I’d love this nose if only I could just capture it as it is. Alas, the preceding is the best I can do. The mouth is rich and thick and bright and minty and green all at once: bunches of clover, spearmint, and heather woven into a circlet for the sixth grader who wrote the best couplet. Chiclets. Bespoke all-purpose glue (no horses). Unroasted hazel nuts outfitted with diesel engines racing on a cold moonlit night. Ox blood oranges. The finish is the marbled endpapers of a great novel. Savored and savory. The musty/musky note from the nose now reveals itself as a hairdresser named Sherri whose specialization is drying to perfection.

Rating:

  
  
  
  
–Our thanks to Laura Baddish and Castle Brands for the sample!