The Dublin Liberties Distillery, as you might be able to tell from the distiller name, is intensely proud of their roots. The Liberties section of Dublin is a famous and storied part of the city with a history too checkered and daring to include here. Everything about the distillery is intricately tied to historical people and places from the Liberties or connecting to Ireland more broadly. Take a tour and you’ll see, trust us. This particular offering is 5 years old and was made in collaboration with The Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in New York City. This Irish Whiskey bar is in turn named after the Dead Rabbits, a notorious gang of Irish immigrants in the mid-1800s whose rivalry with the Bowery Boys eventually resulted in riots that lasted for days.
Distillery: Dublin Liberties Distillery
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 44%
Price: $55.82
Maturation: Ex-bourbon, finished in small virgin oak casks
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Nose: Apricot, fruit cocktail, fall spice, strawberry, orange juice
Palate: Floral, perfume, spice, menthol
Finish: Vanilla, cinnamon, pipe tobacco, mint
Comments: Adding water calms the spritz of the menthol slightly but dulls the nose a bunch. Try if you must, but not recommended. See our impression of Dublin Liberties Distillery – and a few more distilleries from the area – from our Notes from Dublin.
Adam – It might be easy to dismiss the Dead Rabbit at first, but it would be a mistake. This is a slow burn of a whiskey, needing time and patience to peel back the layers. The nose is a swirl of hints and subtle gradations, teasing at memories and challenges what you think you identify. There’s mint for sure throughout the palate, but it is a spritzing scrim to the drama of fruit and floral and spice that dares you to name it. Unlike most whiskies, I needed to examine this by myself so I could bend all my energies to focus on what my senses were telling me and resist the easy out of suggestion. I’m not even sure I love it, as a cursory swallow isn’t simple enough for easy processing, but damn do I love the story it’s trying to tell me. Grab a dram, and see what story is waiting for you.
Meghan – It smells like fruit punch to me, but one made with actual fruit, not just that random red drink. There is a definite orange/orange juice smell, combined with some kind of red fruit. It does not taste like fruit punch, of course. Although that could be interesting (and could not be worse than the peanut butter flavored whisky that DOES exist), fruit only exists in the nose of the Dead Rabbit. I would like it if the nose and palate shared more similarities. The palate is sweet in a kind of sugary perfume way. There is some spice and a hit of menthol at the back of the palate. However, those two flavors do not meld all that well together. While others found spice in the finish, and throughout the entire dram, the more prominent flavor I found on the finish was wood, like the taste of the barrel. It wasn’t particularly oaky, just definitely woody, like the taste of sawdust you accidentally inhale but without the physical sensation. There is a touch of mint at the end but it ends up being more like a mint-flavored toothpick. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed this whisky. However, it is one of those best drank with good company rather than deeply contemplated over. The flavors are nice but disparate. I wish that it flowed more smoothly from nose to finish, with an overarching theme. Others may be able to find that theme but for me, it was missing.
The taste unfurls, like a bunch of flowers with different color petals.
Peter – Reminds me of fairies in the woods, inviting. Like Beethoven 6 in Fantasia, where they’re eating grapes and the sensual-ness of love. A little over the top but very nice.
Mary-Fred – Caramel and burnt sugar, but not the bad kind. This is the good kind, like crème brûlée. A little vanilla. Would make a wonderful Irish Cream or Irish Coffee.
Caitlin – This is like someone who was wearing a lot of perfume had just left the room.
Ben – This Dead Rabbit smells familiar. Like opening up a box of old letters musty. Cored with experience and history. The taste unfurls, like a bunch of flowers with different color petals. When I compare it to other Irish whiskies, it has a bigger body. It’s fuller, more inviting, all the harshness seems removed and replaced with a sort of sweet, inviting things.
Kate – Fairly subtle.
Henry – Warm vanilla and spcies on the nose with a strong hint of florals. In the mouth, the floral elements coalesce into a distinct hyacinth aroma that centers at the front of the palate. Finish is brief, but the memory of the clear hyacinth scent lingers.
