Hyde No.10 Single Cask Banyuls Finish
Hyde NO.10 Single Cask is a single cask Single Malt Irish whiskey finished in a 225L Banyuls Grand Cru (a French dessert wine using red grapes from Côte Vermeille in the Pyrénées-Orientales region) cask. Only 60 bottles were released to the Irish market. Non-chill filtered, bottled at 43% ABV and retailing at €59.
Omar Fitzell Notes
Nose
Pleasant, sweet and delicate. Pastry notes of Cinnamon rolls and sweet Carmel slices. Some orchard fruits and green grapes.
Palate
Slight but with a silky mouth coating. A mixture of caramel sweetness and a lemon citrus which you would expect are at odds but actually work well. A dried fruit note increases the sweetness but not overly so.
Finish
A burst of spice makes for a medium finish. White pepper and nutmeg notes to the end.
Overall
A surprisingly good whiskey from Hyde. Some can be hit or miss but this is a relatively well balanced whiskey whose wine finish does not overpower the distillate too much.
Al Higgins notes
Warm and spicy with aromas of baked fruits, toffee apples, raisins, flambeed bananas, melted butter, vanilla and apple strudel.
Palate
Warming, rounded and medium bodied. Some interesting and quite unique flavours of baked apples and pears, cinnamon, milk chocolate, custard tarts, Danish pastries and vanilla.
Finish
Good length with a nice mix of stewed fruit and warm spice flavours.
Overall
Really interesting with a unique mix of flavours. Good to see that the Banyuls cask finish worked.
Omar Fitzell
Omar has been lurking in the background of the Irish Whiskey Industry since 2010 when he started his journey through tasting, enjoying and collecting whiskey. In January 2018 he launched the online blog “That’s Dram Good” which, in those few short months, has become one of the most popular whiskey blogs in Ireland.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @thatsdramgood
• Facebook – ThatsDramGood
Al Higgins
Over 20 years of experience in drinks retail and a member of the team at the Celtic Whiskey Shop since 2003. Alastair is chief tester and taster at the shop and is also coordinator for the Irish Whiskey Awards. When he is not working he is either training for ultra-marathons, parenting or drumming with his band Le Galaxie.
You can find him on:
• Twitter – @mostlydrinking