The Whistler 9 Year Old Moscatel 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 at the end of 2021 for the 10th anniversary of online beverage retailer Drankdozijn. The first of the three I taste is the one that was finished on Moscatel wine casks, in this case from the bodega of the Portuguese winery José Maria Fonseca.

On the nose it is a beautiful panoply of all kinds of fruit, with strawberries and blueberries in the lead, followed by almond and hazelnuts, something of grapefruit in the background and just enough wood – which seems wet, like in a damp cellar – to counteract all that. Very good!

Nice and oily and full-bodied and immediately a bit spicy. On the one hand from the alcohol – without burning – on the other hand from the woodspices. Think candied ginger, white pepper and a little nutmeg. Settles quickly on your tongue and then even becomes very soft, with the fruit shining. Nougat and marzipan precede something of a bright marmalade of berries, while in the background something of chocolate with caramel filling appears. Again very good.

Nice and long finish on soft notes of fruit and the spices of the oak. They slowly fade away to eventually leave the mouth as good as dry.

Very nice Irishman. The problem, of course, is that boann sets the bar very high for their own product with this delicious sourced whiskey. Thank you again, Benny.