Tyrconnell 16 Year Old
Three Irish - Part II
6 393
Review by @talexander
- Nose23
- Taste24
- Finish23
- Balance23
- Overall93
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- Brand: Tyrconnell
- Type: Irish
- ABV: 46%
After braving the nerdy throngs of Comic-Con with my daughter (who totally discovered her groove there), I can finally come home to relax with an Irish malt.
The Tyrconnells I've had were quite cask dominated (the 10 Year Old Sherries, Ports and Madeiras). This one is six years older, made from Irish barley, double distilled in pot stills and aged strictly in bourbon barrels.
The colour is a warm gold. Beautiful, crisp malt on the nose with lavender, honey, green apple skins, dark chocolate and apple crumble. Lightly buttered English muffin. Pencil eraser. Lemon pith. Water brings out more malt and citrus. Extremely elegant and seemingly full-bodied for such a light, shimmering whiskey.
On the palate the lemon returns but brings a lot of warm spices with it. Barley sugar, light toffee, raspberries, mint and sandalwood. Creamy vanilla. Lots of honey here. As elegant as the nose, but fuller and richer. Spicier, yet somehow more rounded, with water. Extraordinary.
The long, deep finish is biscuity with croissant, paprika and a hint of toasted oak. My God, this is incredible stuff - gentle and elegant, yet quietly packing a spicy, biscuity punch. Cooley does it again. This is my style of single malt. Ranked #16 in Whisky Advocate's Top Whiskies of 2017, scoring a 91 (I'd give it a wee bit higher, or maybe that's just the Irish in me.)
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@talexander Nice review - you seem to like your Irish? Never tried a Tyrconnell but if this is Cooley it's possibly the same stuff as the new Dunville's VR 10, which I liked a lot. Can only imagine the extra years doing wonders as you say.
I wouldn't have considered myself a nerd but think ComicCon could be very enjoyable - at least you had an excuse