The Whistler PX I Love You Single Malt Irish Whiskey Tasting Notes
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The Whistler PX I Love You Single Malt Irish Whiskey |
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Sourced Single Malt |
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46% ABV |
Tasting note compiled by Mark McLaughlin (@mark_rye)
Introduction
The Whistler range of Irish Whiskey is the independently bottled arm of the Boann Distillery in Co. Meath owned and operated by the Cooney family. Pat Cooney is a Drinks Industry veteran in Ireland who sold the drinks distribution company Gleeson’s for €58 million prior to entering the Irish Whiskey industry, with his 3 sons and 2 daughters joining him. The Cooney family then built a state of the art distillery in what used to be a Toyota dealership just outside Drogheda in Co. Meath, although they also have a large Irish Cream producing facility and bottling house known as Merry’s as well.
This particular whiskey is a sourced Single Malt, although the source is not disclosed, which has been initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before a 9 month finishing period in ex-solera PX sherry casks. Now you might wonder what ‘ex-solera’ means, it refers to a process of making mature sherries which involves singling out a number of casks in a pyramid, and continuously mixing the wines, of varying ages, together in the solera over time, to maximise the flavour profile of the wine. Some soleras will have a minimum age of wine added each year, so you could have a minimum of 10 year old sherry added into each cask in the solera although the solera could have been maturing wines for 50, 60, 70, 80+ years for high end sherries.
Casks from soleras are sought after because of the quality of the wines generally produced, however there are many who have pointed out that these casks are generally very old and well-used, meaning the wood itself has little or nothing to give, so you’re happy that whatever wine is still soaked in the wood is going to give you maximum impact.
Color
A slight touch richer than gold possibly amber.
Nose (Aromas)
Not what I was expecting as it’s clearly quite young. You’re given the sense that it is a malt spirit given the almost overzealous ripe banana and orchard fruit skins but it’s this closed acetone note that stops you in your tracks. There’s a hint of dried out varnish on an old wooden floor with touch of lightness coming with a hay note throughout.
Palate & Finish
It’s got a little depth on the palate with initial sweetness moving to a slightly more treacle style note, there’s dried-out ground coffee, imagine a knock box in a café left out overnight. There are fruit notes but not discernible to my palate but on the other hand, I’m not, not enjoying this. It pulls around nicely to almond oils and a touch of orange zest which is quite satisfying.
Verdict
While I reckon the PX casks may have been a bit knackered (tired/old/exhausted) they’ve played a role in ensuring this isn’t just a regular bourbon matured malt. While there’s a touch of youth about it, it had enough to intrigued me. I’d definitely suggested washing this down with a pint of stout or an American style amber ale, I reckon the beer pairing would be a winner!
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