Waterford Organic Gaia 1.1 Irish Single Malt Whiskey / 50% / 0.7l

Waterford Distillery is an investment by Mark Reynier, previously one of the owners of Bruichladdich Distillery.

In 2014, he purchased an old brewery and adapted it to distill whiskey. The plant is equipped with two stills and one distillation column, and the priority is malt whiskey production. In the summer of 2020, the "Single Farm Origin Series" debuted, and in the fall, the "Arcadian Series". Here we present Waterford Gaia 1.1, the first organic Irish whiskey and the forerunner of the "Arcadian Series". Distilled in 2016 from barley from six organic farms using biodynamic farming, it was aged in four types of barrels: first-fill bourbon barrels (42%), so-called virgin American oak (17%), French oak barrels (23%) and barrels from the sweet French wine "Vin Doux Naturel" (18%). Its maturation lasted less than four years.

Nose : malted barley, damp hay and earth, orange zest, pineapple, figs, salted caramel, sweet bread, rose water, mint and a touch of nutmeg.

Palate: oily and quite spicy, black pepper, cloves, lemongrass, vanilla, milk fudge, milk chocolate, pears, cherries, quince jam and oak.

Finish: medium long and rather dry, pepper, a mixture of dried herbs, grapefruit, cocoa and oak.