Glendalough Single Malt 7 YO Mizunara Finish

 

Product: Whiskey, Single Malt

Product number, Alko: 922671

Closure: Cork

Volume: 700 ml

Age: 7 YO

Producer: Glendalough Irish Whiskey Ltd

Country: Irland

Alcohol content: 46% vol

Temperature to drink: 20°C

Colour: Amber

Nose: Vibrant, fruity and floral on the nose.

Mouth: Fresh and citrussy with orchard fruits. A luxuriously smooth mouthfeel. Biscuity malt throughout. Vanilla, fudge and honey from the bourbon cask. The Mizunara brings dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon.

Vinification: Irish Single Malt Whiskey matured on American Oak Bourbon Casks and finished on Japanese Mizunara Oak Casks.

Awards and recognitions: Double Gold at San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2022.

Information about the producer: The Glendalough Distillery was set up by a group of friends from Wicklow and Dublin with a passion for reviving the heritage of craft distilling in Ireland.In the 18th & 19th centuries there were over 200 licensed distilleries in Ireland and along with countless unlicensed ones produced diverse styles of poitín, whiskey, gin and even absinthe. Until recently that dropped to a small handful. After many an evening’s banter and debate over why there weren’t more craft distilleries in the birthplace of distilling, the friends convinced each other to leave the safety of their day jobs, head into the mountains and take a chance on something more meaningful (much like the man on the bottle, St Kevin). Together they built a craft distillery near their favourite spot in those mountains, Glendalough.

Why is Mizunara so special?

  • Taste (A distinctive, unique and wonderfully exotic taste)
  • It’s rare (There may not be any mature mizunara within 10 years)
  • A tree must be 200 years old to be coopered (American Oak takes 80-100 years for comparison)
  • One tree might give you one cask (An American Oak will give you 3/4/5 casks)
  • They’re prone to growing twisted (After you’ve bought the trunk, you may get nothing from it)
  • The whole year’s harvest is sold in one day (And by blind auction)
  • A cask costs €3k (For comparison a bourbon barrel is about €150)
  • Only one cooperage sells it (The rest are owned by the large Japanese distilleries)
  • Mizunara means “water oak” – it takes 3 years to dry (American oak – just under a year, or often kiln-dried)
  • It is extremely brittle and hard to cooper (A cask is typically built and rebuilt many times)
  • Often staves must come from split wood (Rather than quarter-sawn wood to help with leaking)
  • It takes a month to test them (Bourbon casks can be tested in minutes with pressurized air/water)
  • It’s very porous – lot’s of angel’s / devil’s share (But lots of flavour too!)
  • It leaks very badly (And not just through the joins, right through the staves)
  • Casks must be inspected often (And dabbed with fermented juice of unripe persimmons)

Enjoy together with:  Dark chocolate, good cigars, coffee or on its own.

Price: €89,93