West Cork Single Malt Virgin Oak Cask Finished / 43% / 0.7l

West Cork Distillers has been operating since 2003, founded by three friends – John O'Connell and brothers Dennis and Ger McCarthy.

The distillery distills malt and grain whiskey and blends its own blend. Its commercial offer also includes Garnish Island Gin, although gin production is only 5% of the business. The company's latest offering (November 2019) is the "Cask Finish Collection" series, which consists of five whiskeys. All of them, triple distilled, spent their basic maturation period in first-fill bourbon barrels, and finished in sherry, port, rum, calvados and virgin casks. The whiskey presented here spent the last months of maturation in virgin casks from Kelvin Cooperage based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nose: vanilla, maple syrup, damp hay and oak shavings, pine needles and resin, forest floor and a hint of lemon peel.

Taste: delicate, vanilla, sweet breakfast cereals, green apples, gooseberries, black pepper, licorice, notes of grass and young oak.

Finish: medium long, with notes of young oak, freshly cut grass, green apples, vanilla and pepper.