Connemara Distillers Edition Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey (700ml)

The 'Distiller's Edition' was originally developed for the French market.

Other reviews... A recent NAS from Cooley. Colour: white wine. Nose: oh! This is rather lovely. Lots of crushed nettles, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, grassy smoke, some kippers grilling in an adjacent room, herb butter, pebbles, flints and other assorted mineral notes. A few zingy citric notes as well. I find it clean and aromatically charming - whatever that means. Mouth:   soft, slightly herbal smokiness on arrival. Soft notes of tar, kelp, ointment, rubber fishing wellies and coal smoke. More cut grass, chopped parsley, lime juice and chalk. Maybe some salty porridge as well. Finish: Medium. All on sunflower oil, dry cereals, grass, lighter fluid, WD40 and parsley - dried this time. Comments: I should probably try more Connemaras. This one was pretty good. 86 points - whiskyfun.com

Connemara is a wild, mountainous region on the west coast of Ireland, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Loughs Corrib and Mask. The local peat bogs are major fuel sources and have played an important role throughout Irish history in the production of whiskey. However, as many of the distilleries in Ireland were located alongside a canal, the transport and use of coal in distilleries became more efficient than peat. This temporarily killed the tradition of drying malted barley over peat fires to create peaty whiskeys. Managing Director of Cooley Distillery, David Hynes and chairman John Teeling resurrected this traditional Irish custom. Upon the brand's launch in 1996, noted whisky writer, Michael Jackson commented of Connemara “The revival of rustic peatiness adds a whole new element to today’s palette of Irish whiskey flavours…Lots happening. Chimney pots of smoke. I love this whiskey.” Still produced at the award winning Cooley Distillery, they remain the only widely available peated Irish expressions on the market today.