Tullamore D.E.W. Aged 14 Years

Color: a rich golden yellow to light amber.

Nose: rich, floral malt, with hints of citrus and anise.

Palate: This whisky is just so busy! The caramel and vanilla from bourbon casking is up front, followed by gentle anise, citrus and spice from the sherry cask, and then a rich fruity sweetness from the port and madeira casks, which lingers soft and creamy on the tongue for a delightful medium length finish.

Tullamore is an Irish part of the William Grant & Sons group of distilleries (The Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie in Scotland). They know what they are doing when it comes to making whisk[e]y. This particular single malt expression aged a comfortable 14 years, finished years in 4 different casks (American oak ex-bourbon, European oak ex-Olorosso sherry, port and madeira casks) sounds to me like an idea David Stewart inspired given his having been a pioneer in wine cask finishing whiskies, which the company passed on doing with the scotch labels. It is a dangerously smooth, very richly flavored and somewhat complex whisky.
This may be the nicest single malt Irish whiskey under $100 I’ve tasted to date.

Slainte!