West Cork Peat Charred Cask 0.7 l

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 43% | Chill filtration: No

Special Features:

West Cork Peat Charred Cask gains its smoky character from a distinctive cask treatment. This triple-distilled single malt belongs to the limited Glengarriff Series and initially matures for four years in sherry casks. It then spends four to six months finishing in casks heavily charred using peat from the bogs of Glengarriff Forest. Here, peat smoke influences the cask and consequently the whiskey, rather than being introduced through drying the malt. The series’ other expression, Bog Oak Charred Cask, uses bog oak as its fuel instead.

For the charring process, peat is ignited in a combustion chamber and supplied air intensifies the burning. The oak casks are lowered over it. Flames and smoke act together on the inside of the cask, creating an aroma-infused layer of char. This treatment adds a smoky character to the preceding sherry-cask maturation, combining with fruit, malt and mild sweetness. The whiskey is bottled at 43% in a 0.7-litre bottle, without added colouring or chill filtration.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: On the nose, orange oil, dry earth and baked banana combine with cinnamon and dried fruit. A light sweetness accompanies the fruit. The gentle smoke recalls smouldering wood and mingles with slightly tart citrus notes and a grassy accent. With more air, malt and lightly smoky vanilla become more prominent.
• Palate: On the palate, malt shows a slightly meaty note, accompanied by quince and ripe pear. Mild sweetness, sweet orange and slightly tart lemon meet gentle smoke that does not obscure the other flavours. Light herbal notes emerge towards the end.
• Finish: Peppery oak, dried apricot and a hint of smoke linger on the finish. Bitter orange peel and bitter cocoa powder add to the lingering flavours, with orange less prominent than on the nose and palate. Light acidity and smoky green apple round it out.

Distillery/Bottler:

West Cork Distillers was founded in 2003 by childhood friends John O’Connell, Denis McCarthy and Ger McCarthy. Its beginnings were in Union Hall; today, the distillery is located in Skibbereen in southwest Ireland. The site houses pot stills and column stills, along with its own maturation warehouses and bottling lines. West Cork thus brings the production, maturation and bottling of its whiskeys together in one place.

West Cork Distillers developed its own apparatus for treating the Glengarriff Series casks together with Pat Wholly, a local fifth-generation blacksmith. It allows solid fuels such as peat or bog oak to be used for charring the casks. The process draws on the historical use of solid fuels in cooperage and deliberately uses their smoke as an additional influence on maturation.

Facts: