The Whistler 9 Year Old Marsala Finish for Drankdozijn

The Whistler is a brand of Irish whiskey marketed by the Boann Distillery (while we quietly wait for their own distilled stuff). This 9 Year Old is part of a triptych that was bottled in December 2021 for the 10th anniversary of online beverage retailer Drankdozijn. The second of the three I taste is the one that matured on bourbon barrels for 9 years and was then finished for 10 months on Marsala wine casks. Marsala is 'the port wine of Sicily'. Pay attention to the alcohol percentage. You don't see two digits after the comma very often.

Creamy, very sweet and fruity nose on all kinds of blueberries, red berries, strawberries and raisins. Freshly ground coffee beans and some cocoa soon appear but are then supplemented with something dusty that makes me feel like I'm in a damp wine cellar. That's clever. It's not over yet. After three minutes in the glass, it becomes a little sweet with guimauve (hooray!) and dark chocolate with pistachio cream filling. The longer it sits in the glass, the better it gets.

Nice and creamy on the palate. Sweet and a bit spicy, but it does not bite. The fruit quickly stands head and shoulders above the spices. Think strawberries, red berries, but also apricots and sultanas, raspberries and even something of coconut. The chocolate also returns – sans pistachio – and the wood is also quietly making itself heard. What an excellent malt this is!

In the medium finish, the spices give way to all the fruity notes even faster, which I really like. Raspberries on the deathbed. Lightly drying.

Delicious whiskey. Maybe I should just try a Marsala wine, for I seem to really like that. Thanks, Benny!