Blind Tasting No. 7 Recap
Triple Distilled
This weekend, we talked all about distilling, with an emphasis on triple distilling. Traditionally, Irish whiskey is triple distilled using copper pot stills. This began as a result of a heavy tax placed on malted barley in the late 1700s. The Irish distillers replaced some of the malted barley in their mash with unmalted barley to evade the tax. However, this resulted in lower alcohol content in the wash, meaning distillers needed to distill the whiskey three times to get the same alcohol yield as a double distilled malt. A delightful effect of triple distillation is a refined, delicate spirit. And the process still continues to this day. Here are the three triple distilled whiskies we tasted this weekend,
Auchentoshan 12 year
We started the tasting with Auchentoshan 12 year. This Lowland single malt Scotch is made from 100% malted barley, triple distilled and aged for a minimum of 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry butts. Auchentoshan is the only distillery in Scotland that triple distills all of their products, and their whiskeys are quite unique. The members tasted cherry, anise, meadow flowers, leather, rich vanilla, ash and nuts.
RedBreast Lustau
RedBreast is a well-known Irish whiskey brand that sources their single pot still whiskey from the Midleton Distillery. The mash is a blend of malted and unmalted barley with no other grains added. In this expression, the whiskey is aged 9-12 years in ex-bourbon barrels and sherry butts. It is then finished 1 year in first-fill oloroso sherry butts from Bodega Lustau causing this whiskey to have the greatest sherry impact out of the three whiskeys. Interestingly, the members thought it tasted reminiscent of a bourbon. It had notes of kettle corn, maple, caramel, honey roasted pecan, vanilla and cinnamon.
Writers Tears
Because of its gentle flavors, Writers Tears is a popular Irish whiskey especially among many writers. It is a vatting of a single malt and single pot still (no grain) Irish whiskey produced by Walsh Whiskey Distillery. It’s aged a minimum of 3 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Everyone picked out green apple Jolly Rancher as a tasting note as well as vanilla, chamomile, light cane sugar and a touch of pepper.
This tasting was challenging, as flavor profiles of triple distilled whiskeys are more subdued compared to what we’ve tasted recently. This meant the members had to spend a little bit more time with the whiskeys to dig out those tasting notes. In the end, about half of the group guessed all three whiskeys correctly!
