The Tyrconnell Single Malt Review

Country: Ireland

Brand: Tyrconnell

Type: Irish Single Malt Whiskey

Age: NAS but said to be 6-7 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Date: 10/08/2012

Color: Pale Gold/Straw

Nose: Light and Crisp. Lots of Vanilla to start with followed by Malt, lightly Buttered Grain Biscuits, Oak, Raisins, Apples, Vinegar, light Alcohol, Lemon – and Orange Zest. Unfortunately I also find a light off-note (Plastic). There is some Sweet Fruit lurking in the back (Pear).

Taste: Vanilla, Custard, Slightly Bitter Almonds, Sweet Malt, Honey, Butter Biscuits, Light Spices.

Finish: Sugary Sweet at first but dryer towards the end. Vanilla followed by Grassy tones, Oak, Pepper and Slightly Bitter Cocoa Powder.

I added a bit of water and won’t do that again. It doesn’t do any good. The Nose becomes very Malty and Grainy. The rest just waters down. My advise would be to drink this whiskey neat.

Rating: 79 

Nose: 21 – Taste: 19.5 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 19.5

General Remarks: Tyrconnell is the name of an Irish race horse that won the Irish Derby in 1876 at 100-1 odds. The distillery was founded in 1820 by Alexander Stuart but closed in 1925. The brand name was bought and reintroduced by the Cooley Distillery in 1988.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: I am desperately trying to get friends with Irish Whiskey. It’s true that I only tasted Jameson Standard, Jameson 12Y, Connemara Peated NAS, Greenore 8Y Single Grain and now the Tyrconnell. And that’s not a hell of a lot of course. But so far I found Jameson to be okay but certainly not great. The other three are produced by the Cooley Distillery and I’m not extremely impressed by any of them. The Nose is not the main problem. There are certainly nice tones to be found although I get off-notes in all three of them, respectively fake Peat Smoke, fake Bananas and Plastic. But I have difficulties in really liking the Palate. There are nice Vanilla and Malt tones but the overall impression that lingers in my mouth and in my mind is a combination of Sweet Sugar,slightly Bitter Nuts (Almonds) and a peculiar off-note. I’m sure there are a lot of people who will like the Tyrconnell and Irish Whiskey in general and I will certainly continue to test and taste these spirits. Who knows? Someday I might see the light. But for the time being I find them interesting to try out, yet not tasty enough to really compete with their Scottish brothers!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       August 2012