Connemara Turf Mor

Connemara is the Cooley brand for the only irish peated whisky. Normally Connemara is available in a lighter peated expression, a cask strength , and a Sherry finished version. While the Connemara is peated to around 20 ppm, the new “Turf Mór” (meaning : Big Turf, or Big peat) is peated to a whopping 58 ppm. (For comparison, this is a very high ppm, which peaty Ardbegs are peated to, and higher than most Islay peated malts!).

As it seems, Cooley had a rough time getting lightly peated malts from Scotland, so they chose to simply mix peated and none peated malts for their regular Connemaras. In addition they experimented with using only the higher 58 ppm barley and the outcome is this “small batch” highly peated expression (20,000 bottles to be released ). The whisky iteself is very young (3 years old), and will be bottled at Cask strength. I was able to sample a wee pre-released dram, as this whisky will hit the shelves, only in a few months.

Nose: rubber, peat in kilos. This is very strong stuff. Kind of synthetic feel to it. Some sweeter notes too under the peaty layer ;candy and rose water. Also pepper. Palate: yikes. This is quite the peaty monster. Big heaps of peat, earthy peat. rubber galore, pepper, then off to malty sugary notes. Finish: rubber bitter smoke and ashes.

Bottom line :

This is a not a dram for the faint of heart, it’s very strong, peaty, and at Cask Strength it’s quite intense. As much as I love Peated malts (and you all know i love them), this one feels a little too much. Usually i do love my peaties young and kicking, but this one has too much rubber, or that synthetic plastic feeling to it. I think a few more years in the cask might do it some good. at three years of age, it’s a bit to young… Anyways, i’d recommedn it to anyone who is into peat, and would like to try a different approach to a peat monster (out of Islay)

Nose, Taste, Finish and Balance are graded out of 2.5 each:

Nose: Well, it's Connemara alright, (and at the risk of bludgeoning this review to death with a bad pun before it's even started), just with a little "more turf". Literally wafts of turf - wet mud specifically, like a changing room after a game of football in the rain. Within the turf notes there is also clay and white chalk, the kind used on a blackboard, and even plasticine. Classic coastal notes of seaweed and brine are richly represented, along with the usual peat suspects charcoal and smoke. As we dig deeper there are more unique flavours to savour, such as dark chocolate infused with chilli, burnt pork sausage, baked potato, unripe apple, bitter marmalade, lime and and extra strong mints. As we step back and go in for one more nosing, there is an overwhelming undertone of Lapsang Souchong tea. Amongst the very best noses I have had the privilege of exploring. 2.5

Taste: A warm and rich coating of turkish delight, melon and nougat, with a balancing note of jalapeno spice. Further velvety sweet notes come in the form of trifle, guava and meringue. Blissfully indulgent. 2.0

Finish: A soothing plume of honey and lemon smoke, condensing into a peaty molten brown sugar, drizzled over wood-smoked melon, nougat and pomegranate served on a platter of wood-bark. The show is closed with a Lapsang Souchong serenade that leaves us swooning. 2.5

Balance: As I attempt to summarise my experience of this whisky, I'm going to do my best to avoid knee-jerk hyperbole. I don't think I would be exaggerating however if I said this was amongst the finest consumable substances I have had the pleasure of tasting over the past 12 months. That said, Connemara is very much a personal favourite of mine, and this is like going to see your favourite film that you've only ever seen on DVD, now re-mastered with added bonus material and deleted scenes, projected in 35mm big-screen glory and viewed from the royal box of the Royal Albert Hall, which has been privately rented for the evening for your own personal enjoyment. OK, so I've succumbed to the hyperbole... 2.5

Cooley has set its bar high in the past. Watch out, it’s just raised the bar again. The company is rapidly turning in to the Irish version of Compass Box – and praise doesn’t come any higher than that. This is without doubt world class whiskey making, so expect it to pick up another clutch of awards next year. Great name, too; bad pun it might be, but it tells you everything you need to know about it.

Nose: Like watching the Irish rugby team catch the ball from the kick off, run it wide and score in the corner in the first few seconds. It’s in your face immediately. The smoke is all burning steam engine oil, but it’s countered by lemon and lime syrup, and there is a hint of spearmint toffee. It shouts ‘come on in, it’s lovely.’

Palate: This is the metaphorical whisk(e)y bridge between Islay and Ireland. The oily industrial smoke is offset by an Irish one-two of rich fresh green fruit and delightfully spritely barley. There’s no real winner, and some time through the battle the two sides make friends and cosy up to you.

Finish: Exceptionally long with the smoke and fruit holding hands and wandering slowly off in to the distance.

Turf Mor means ‘big peat’ and that is to be taken literally. The malt is peated up to 58 ppm (as opposed to their regular peat-level of about 20 ppm). Actually, this Turf Mor was something of an experiment. And it’s now being released in Cooley’s ‘Small Batch’ releases of Connemara.

Nose: signature Connemara with gentle citrus and some toffee sweetness, but strong peat on this one. Earthy. Lemon peel and some rubber. Very nice!

Taste: Citrus fruit with strong peat, wonderfully balanced. Peppery bite without water. Water brings out the sweetness more. The bite has to do with the peat level, sure, but also with the fact that this is a very young malt indeed, only three years old. And of course, it’s a cask strength (a whopping 58,2%). This one is a swimmer. Don’t hesitate to try it with some water.

Finish: Long, dry and peaty. But definitely not in the Islay way, meaning it’s peaty but without the iodine/medicinal character.

To be released in December 2010 (20.000 bottles), this is a must-have whiskey. I read somewhere that it’s even finished on a sherry cask to give it extra depth and complexity, but judging by the color it was a refill sherry cask and a finish of only a couple of weeks. Nevertheless, this dram is indeed complex and will probably be gone before you know it. I don’t often say ‘buy this’, but I’ll gladly make an exception this time.

You already guessed this is a heavily peated version – around 58 ppm which is in the range of Ardbeg and well above Lagavulin or Laphroaig. The regular Connemara contains around 20 ppm phenols. It’s 3 years old.

Nose: nice round peat profile. Sweet almonds, smoked tea, a few floral notes (soft lavender). Nice fruity notes: apples, citrus marmalade, violet and strawberry candy, some white chocolate. Some dried fruits. A rubbery and medicinal edge as well. Really enjoyable.

Mouth: strong attack with thick, creamy peat. Not a lot of smoke though. Growing a little herbal. Soft vanilla. Burnt sugar. Citrus peel.

Finish: long and drying, on peat, cereal notes and vanilla.

This Connemara shows heavy peat but in another way than most Islay distilleries. The added roundness and fruitiness brings a nice variation on the theme. This will be popular.