Waterford Ballymorgan Edition 1.1

My experience with Waterford whiskey began about six to eight months ago when I started noticing these bottles frequently on whisky auction sites. A quick online search revealed it's an Irish whiskey, often made with organic ingredients prior to distillation. I found the blue bottle unappealing and was confused by the numerous, similar-looking expressions. I avoided tasting it for a long time but decided to try it when purchasing some samples, finally crossing it off my list. I bought this "Ballymorgan edition 1.1" without any prior research. Tonight, for St. Patrick's Day, I felt like drinking Irish whiskey and chose this one. It turned out to be... very good. After tasting, I began researching Waterford and their focus on sourcing different barley types. They have a unique term for 'terroir' called 'Teireoir,' linked to a code you can enter on their website to discover details about the barley farm, casks used, maturation time, and much more. It felt like an overwhelming amount of information for a single dram. This whiskey is bottled at 50% ABV, has a golden color, and was matured in first-fill ex-American whiskey casks, American Virgin Oak, French Oak, and Vin Doux Naturel (a fortified French wine). The Teireoir Code is F013E01-01. Regarding the whiskey itself: The nose is very inviting, full of cake and vanilla, with notes of malted barley, chocolate milk, and vanilla milkshake. I also detected recently baked brownies, hay, yeast, and sponge cake. Despite the 50% ABV, the nose is very accessible, with hints of burnt cake crust, fudge, and meringue. The palate is excellent and delicious, featuring a buttery texture, meringue, sugar, and hay. It also offers intriguing farm-fresh fruit notes like gooseberries, prunes, and various citrus flavors. The finish is tasty and lengthy, with notes of ginger, pepper, and salt, followed by hay and 'Crazy dips.' It has a very yeasty character and a hint of aniseed, finishing with a grassy, highly rewarding sensation. Overall, this whiskey significantly exceeded my expectations with its taste and balance, especially considering it's only 3 years and 10 months old. It's incredibly enjoyable, earning 22 points for each criterion in my scoring system. This distillery has opened my eyes, and I intend to try more from them. My final score is a solid 88 out of 100.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Irish Whiskey Tasting, January 22, 2021). A blend of casks: 27% first-fill bourbon, 18% virgin oak, 18% former French wine, and 27% 'Premium' French – the meaning of 'premium French' is unclear! Nose: Chocolate, sweet orchard fruits Palate: Honey, vanilla, apple, cocoa, rich baked spices. An unusual, though not unpleasant, farmyard or sulfur note is present. Finish: Burnt wood, sweet (brown sugar), earthy, leather. The finish is long, coats the mouth, and leaves a burnt wood aftertaste. It tied for second place out of six whiskies, with 14% of the votes for favorite of the night. (55% of attendees indicated they enjoyed the whisky). The whiskies in the tasting were very close in the voting for favorite. This was my pick for the best of the tasting, but it's not one I'd hurry to buy a bottle of.