Grain

Knappogue Castle 17 Year Twin Wood

Knappogue Castle 17 Year Twin Wood

While the trend in cask finishes is not as prominent in Irish whiskies as they are in scotch, you can still find them. Knaggogue Castle put out a limited release, distilled in 1994 and bottled in 2011, featuring a spirit finished in sherry casks. The Knappogue Castle 16 spent a few short months being finished in ex-sherry casks, and this release extends that sherry maturation. The Knappogue Castle 17 Year is somewhat limited (our bottle proclaims it as number 104 out of 4500), it doesn’t carry the rarity or price of the truly limited releases from the distillery and finding a bottle isn’t terribly difficult. So far, at least!

Balvenie 17 Year Peated Cask

Balvenie 17 Year Peated Cask

One of the larger producers of single malts in the Speyside region, the Balvenie is no stranger to creating new expressions, be they of limited offering or part of their main range. A newer release has been two whiskies aged 17 years, a Doublewood and this Peated Cask variety. The spirit is aged in ex-American bourbon barrels, but then some of it is finished in peated barrels and half is aged in new American oak. The two elements are finally brought together for balance. This allows a peat injection to the relatively lighter malt without overwhelming it.

Amrut Fusion

Amrut Fusion

Amrut has a special place in our collective memory. The first time we tasted the standard offering before we’d even begun our collective exploration, the results were…memorable. And horrific. Fast forward two years of developing our palates and, while perhaps still not our first choice at the bar, we can better appreciate what the distillery is trying to do. The history of whisky in India is a proud and interesting one. Amrut started over 65 years ago; a large company, only a small percentage of its revenue is from whisky. While most Indian distilleries serve their domestic tastes, Amrut is focused primarily on foreign markets. Their single malt line has only been available for the past decade or so, and this heralded Fusion combines barley from India with barley from Scotland, which has been peat smoked.