Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey Tasting Notes
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Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey |
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Sourced Blend of Malt & Grain whiskeys |
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45% ABV |
Tasting note compiled by Mark McLaughlin (@mark_rye)
Introduction
Roe & Co is Diageo’s second foray into Irish Whiskey after an extremely profitable spell as owners of Bushmills from 2005 until 2014, they re-entered the Irish Whiskey market with the release of this blend in 2017 and news of a new distillery in a converted power station on the original George Roe & Company site which began production in 2019.
They are open about the fact that this is a sourced whiskey although they do not disclose the source and it’s a difficult one to figure out as they would have had access to an abundance of malt whiskey from Bushmills and grain whiskey from Midleton during their time as owners of Bushmills. Although, they are also sufficiently wealthy enough to secure supply contracts with BeamSuntory through their Cooley distillery, although you should never write John Teeling out of the equation of a large supply contract with his Great Northern Distillery (although GND would not have been able to supply the original stock when this was release), who knows really? And does it really matter? That’s a debate for another day.
What we do know is, it’s made up of components of Malt and Grain whiskeys fully matured in ex-bourbon barrels with a noted high percentage matured in 1st fill casks. 1st fill meaning that it’s their first used since they were used in the bourbon industry, meaning the influence from both the bourbon and the American oak itself would be higher than in 2nd or 3rd fill casks. Bottled at a healthy 45%abv and non-chill filtered this was developed with the support of numerous Irish bartenders with the plan of creating a versatile, mixable product.
Color
Straw with a hint of gold.
Nose (Aromas)
Balanced and full of sweetness on the first assessment, lots of chocolate covered coconut flakes, like a Bounty bar if you ever get the pleasure. The vanillin influence is clear with vanilla pod and honeycomb before turning to elevated wood spices like cedar dust mixed with cinnamon and clove. If there is a nose that screams American oak, it’s this one.
Palate & Finish
It’s immediately textural, with a distinct malt influence and a pleasant mashing of fruits, maybe just a touch of caramelised bananas. It’s got lots of vanilla with a touch of chocolate yet then, again, it becomes surrounded by wood spices and cinnamon. Finishing with light spice and grain sweetness.
Verdict
This is a no nonsense american oak influence blend which benefits from its slightly higher than average abv, the spice notes are quite specific and may turn some people away but it’s definitely worth tasting and I can speak from past experience that it works incredibly well in a highball. On another note, they’ve spirit coming of age this year which I’d be unsure if they’ll release any so young but I’d be really interested to try it and I can say the distillery is well worth a visit.
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