Connemara Turf Mor

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

Find where to buy Connemara whisky