![]() Finally some days and hours later (19 months) it was given the green light to be bottled. Filled with 12-23 year old pot still whiskeys back in Ireland, which had previously been matured in American oak (refill & first fill). Staves sent to Antonio Paez Lobato cooperage in Jerez where they were dried for 15 months in the Spanish sunshine then given a light to medium toast before being turned into 29, 240 litre hogshead casks. Midleton made sure the project was completely sustainable with the trees being felled in accordance with the Irish Forest Service.Īfter felling, Midleton sent the trees to Galicia, Spain, for the magic to be done and turned into casks. This latest release used 6 trees from the Bluebell Forest in Castle Blunden Estate, County Kilkenny. Kilkenny, making it the first Irish whiskey to be finished in virgin Irish Oak for 100+ years. The original release of Dair Ghaelach used 30 year old oak trees from Grinsell’s Wood, within the Ballaghtobin Estate in Co. ![]() Bingo! Jackpot!Ī little info on Dair Ghaelach to get us started. Now I’m not best for reading full emails or taking in all the details, so when you rock up to the tasting wondering “what tree from the range will we be trying.?” to find out its all 6! (It said so in the email, whoops) This meaning we were some of the first people in the world to try all 6. The native wood contributes notes of caramel, fruits, vanilla and chocolate for a smooth and robust whiskey.Tasting NotesNose: Pot still spices are accentuated by the Irish oak contribution, adding waves of toasted wood with hints of vanilla and roasted coffee, layered over fresh fruit which evolves from orchard fruits to tropical notes.Taste: Classic pot still spices give a luscious texture to the fore, while the influence of the Irish oak adds a medley of sweet notes including chocolate and honeycomb.Finish: Remarkably long finish with fruit and spices fading to allow the Irish oak to have the final say.I recently got invited along to the lavish 5* Merchant Hotel in Belfast, by Joe Magowan & Whiskey Club for a tasting of the new Midleton, Dair Ghaelach (Irish for Irish Oak), Bluebell Forest, along with a small number of fellow whiskey devotees. Back at Midleton Distillery, the virgin oak casks were filled with Irish pot still whiskeys ranging in age from 13-26 years.Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest is bottled at cask strength, ranging from 56.1% – 56.6% ABV, giving drinkers the opportunity to taste Irish whiskey almost directly from Irish oak. After a 15-month drying process, the staves were worked into barrels and given a light toasting before returning to Ireland. This, in addition to a lighter toasting of the wood and unique combination of distillates, results in subtle flavour differences between Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest and its predecessors, Dair Ghaelach Grinsell’s Wood and Dair Ghaelach Bluebell Forest.Once felled, the carefully harvested trees were shipped to the Maderbar sawmills in Baralla, north-west Spain, where they were traditionally quarter-sawn into staves for barrel manufacturing and transferred to the Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage in Jerez. ![]() Known for its cool summers and heavy rainfall, the climate of County Wicklow impacts the density and porosity of the oak. Midleton’s talented team, led by Master of Maturation Kevin O’Gorman, Master Cooper Ger Buckley and Master Blender Billy Leighton, set out to source sustainable Irish oak from estates throughout Ireland to produce a series of whiskeys, each with their own individual history and taste profile, that could be traced back to the specific tree from which the oak cask was made.For the third edition, the Midleton team selected the Knockrath estate in the ancient Vale of Clara where the oak has grown for more than 150 years amidst the landscape of mountains and lakes. Midleton Knockrath Forest Collection One to Seven Trees The story of Midleton Very Rare Dair Ghaelach, which translates as ‘Irish oak’, began over a decade ago when the Midleton Masters, ever keen to innovate and create unique and exemplary whiskeys, decided to explore the possibility of maturing Irish whiskey in native oak.
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