Method and Madness Garryana Oak Finish

Celebrating Saint Patty's with the initial pour. I used to think this was a night for amateurs, when serious spirit enthusiasts would stay away. That idea came from my love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the early 2000s; in the show's universe, monsters avoided Halloween. Seeing guys vomiting in the street on St. Patrick's Day in Philly made me think it wasn't my kind of fun. However, my perspective has shifted over time. Since my wife brought back nine bottles of Irish whiskey from Ireland last July, we decided to open our third bottle from that trip (following Teeling Wonders of Wood Swedish and Bushmills Acacia Distiller's Exclusive) on St. Patrick's Day 2025 while she prepares Irish Boxty Potato Pancakes with mushrooms and cabbage. I appreciate bottle tasting notes because they are typically both general and accurate. Method and Madness bottles all feature these descriptions on the back: nose, palate, finish. For this one, the bottle suggests: Nose (smoked applewood, treacle, and golden raisins); Taste (crushed black pepper, coffee cake, toasted wood), and finish (clove spice, malted barley, and coffee grounds). Most of these align with my experience, except for smoked applewood. I haven't intentionally tasted coffee grounds, though I've certainly smelled them. Therefore, I feel I'm in a good position to evaluate the bottle's tasting notes and perhaps offer my own observations, as who tastes precisely what the bottle indicates when sampling whiskey? On the nose, I detect a grassy aroma mixed with tart red apple and a hint of vanilla. While not groundbreaking for Irish Whiskey, it presents as full-bodied without the metallic bitterness found in blends like Tully or Jameson. This is a positive, considering this bottle cost nearly three times as much as those. While price doesn't always guarantee quality, one would expect a step up from standard Irish offerings, given Method and Madness's reputation for experimentation and overall satisfaction (though that's just my experience; however, all the Method and Madness I've tried over the years has been high quality). The tart sweetness could also be interpreted as golden raisin, as noted on the bottle, due to a pleasant, slightly muted dried fruit aroma. This might be what the Garryana imparts. It also has a citrusy quality, like kumquat. An expert reviewer mentioned lemon custard pie, which I can accept as a different way of perceiving the same profile. On the palate, a strong vanilla note is present. Where the bottle mentions "coffee cake," I perceive a general baked goods character. It's bready with sweetness, but more akin to a subtle coffee cake, not the overly sugary store-bought kind. It's more like the subdued version a grandmother might make to accompany coffee during brunch. Reflecting further, I might even call it Belgian waffle. I also agree wholeheartedly that toasted wood accurately describes part of the profile. There's a pleasant amount of spice, which could be described as clove or black pepper, and a bitter citrus that I'd identify as orange peel, leading into the finish. Curiously, the expert reviewer described the finish as short. I've often wondered if finish perception is subjective, and I suppose it is, because the flavors here linger long after swallowing, coating the tongue with a pleasant dry spice that encourages another sip. Overall, this is a quality spirit. I slightly prefer the single pot still in chestnut oak, and although my initial impression of their single malt wasn't strong, I purchased a second bottle which I grew to appreciate significantly, regretting running out. Method and Madness seems to be a brand worth following. Their products can compete with Green and Yellow Spot and Redbreast, which I consider the best available (I haven't tried Blue or Red Spot yet). My wife purchased this for 95 pounds, which is about $124 currently. It's a bit expensive for what it is, but once purchased, you might as well enjoy it, right?