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Tyrconnell 16 Year Old

Three Irish - Part II

6 393

@talexanderReview by @talexander

17th Mar 2018

1

Tyrconnell 16 Year Old
  • Nose
    23
  • Taste
    24
  • Finish
    23
  • Balance
    23
  • Overall
    93

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

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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3 comments

@RianC
RianC commented

@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 wink

6 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

@RianC I don't actually buy a lot of Irish whiskey - I like really good bottles but overall I find the category on the low-end price scale a little soft. There are cheap scotches, bourbons etc that I really like but not that many cheap Irish, so I don't buy a lot. But some mid-to-high end Irish whiskeys can be spectacular.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@talexander
talexander commented

@RianC And yes, Comic-Con was a total nerd-out - I enjoyed it more through my daughter's eyes than anything! But it was fun.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?