Dunville's Old Irish Whiskey

Dunville's is an old brand that was once distilled at the Royal Irish Distillery. Like many old Irish whiskey labels, it vanished when Dunville & Co., the owners of the distillery, went into liquidation in 1936. Fast-forward to 2013, when Shane Braniff started Echlinville, the first distillery to open in Northern Ireland in over 125 years. Most of their whiskey goes into Feckin, but he revived the Dunville brand, bottling this 10 year old malt finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks (I'm not sure where he sourced this; probably Cooley). It is non-chill-filtered. This bottle, which I purchased through Scotch Whisky Auctions, has been open for about three months.

The colour, similar to the Teeling Single Malt I just wrote up, is yellow with a slight greenish tinge. The nose is very grassy, with Granny Smith being the most dominant note. Vanilla custard, candied orange peel and light oak. Dates, papaya and Weetabix. Water brings out some woodsmoke. Beautifully complex.

The cereal notes are more pronounced on the palate, with crisp malt, raisin and more oak. Toffee and nutmeg. Peppery. Mouth-coating. A bit spicier with water, which is nice.

The finish is short with more green apple and oak. This Irish is quite beautifully done, and nicely balanced between the sweetness of the malt, the oak and the fruit notes from the PX. Highly recommended if you can find it!

Find where to buy Dunville's whisky