Irish

Exciting whiskey things are finally (at least from what we see in these parts) coming out of the Emerald Isle. You can thank the Walsh Whiskey Distillery for much of this. Bernard Walsh has passed through Toronto a couple of times, always with a great whiskey (or six) in tow. This time he packed a cache of samples from both his Writers’ Tears and The Irishman line. Included were the complex, flowery/fruity/cocoa-laced Writers’ Tears Copper Pot Deau XO Cognac Cask, the Writers’ Tears Vintage Cask Strength 2018 (complex and warm with suggestions of fruitcake, toasted nuts, and baking spice) and the Writers’ Tears Red Head (matured in oloroso sherry casks), with malty, dark plum, sultana, and white chocolate notes on the nose and palate.

From The Irishman lineup we sampled The Irishman Founder’s Reserve, The Irishman Founder’s Reserve Caribbean Cask Finish, The Irishman Single Malt, and The Irishman Cask Strength. Generally, I found The Irishman line slightly gentler than its Writers’ Tears counterparts, with perhaps more emphasis or fruity, estery notes. I asked Walsh what differentiated the lines.

“Writers’ Tears focuses its attention primarily to super premium blends with a high single pot still content married with single malt.” he explained. “The Irishman, on the other hand, focuses its attention primarily on super premium blends with a high single malt content married with single pot still.” In both cases, all whiskies are products of 100 percent barley distilled in copper pots.