Apologies for the lack of posts this week, Joel and myself have been up to the Scottish Lowlands for a little run around the region, stories of which we'll be bringing to you shortly. In the meantime, continuing on from where we left off in our last post, we bring you news of another brand new Irish single malt whiskey, from tiny independents, Inish Turk Beg.
The whiskey is the work of a small private island of the same name in Clew Bay, to the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo. And a stunning place it looks too. Check out this video.
'Inish Turk Beg' apparently means 'small island of the wild boar' and from the Island's website, they seem to have embraced the traditions of hunting and fishing, both playing an important part in the island's produce. For those bacon connoisseurs out there, Inish Turk Beg boasts some rather tasty sounding cured delights, using cloves, Moscovado sugar, apricot and foraged rosehips... sounds like a set of Caskstrength whisky tasting notes if you ask me!
Information on the whiskey is fairly limited, as is the size of the release; 2,888 1 litre bottles, finished in casks of Poitin, apparently aged for around 10 years. It's bottled at 44%, using hand-blown mooring buoy-style bottles, partly incorporating sand from the island's shoreline.
With images of the cured bacon and island life still gently sauntering around my head, I am in a suitably relaxed mood today. It is Sunday evening, I've just had a roast chicken dinner cooked beautifully by Mrs Caskstrength and a strum on my new guitar. (bargain of the century!!)
So with any luck, this brand new Irish dram will be the icing on the cake....
Inish Turk Beg - Irish single malt whiskey - Maiden Voyage - 44% - NAS
Nose: An initial mix of light fresh fruit, a hint of something earthy and a little gristy, the elements of youth being the resounding factor in this whiskey, from what I can tell. Further notes of vanilla, hazelnuts and mossy wet leaves start to develop. A little dash of water brings out a slightly zesty sherbet lemon. Very pleasant indeed.
Palate: Creamy, very smooth and velvety in the mouth, but lacking a great deal of depth or complexity. Notes of candyfloss, some sliced green apple begin to emerge after a while. Water brings out further fresh, zesty notes.
Finish: Clean and fresh with resounding overtones of lemon zest.
Overall: Easy drinking, smooth and light, this shares a lot in common with younger Scotch single malts- and less so with the likes of other Irish single malts we've tried. It's quite expensive at £125 and certainly isn't going to be on every collectors list, but I imagine trying this in the beautiful surroundings of the island and it'll probably leave you 'beggin for more.