Kinahans Kasc Project Blend
This blended Irish whiskey is matured in hybrid casks, each cask being made from 5 different types of tree: Portuguese Oak, American Oak, French Oak, Hungarian Oak and Chestnut. Bottled at 43% ABV. and RRP of €50.
Omar Fitzell Notes
Loads of sweetness with honey and treacle. Slight plum note with a bit of a musty hint in there.
Palate:
Very light mouth feel. Sweet again with caramel and milk chocolate.
Finish:
Medium. For me this is where this whiskey shines. Some spice, tropical fruit and orange zest. Very pleasant finish with no after burn whatsoever.
Overall:
While I praise the finish, I found the whole whiskey to be unbalanced. And I guess that’s what is expected from this whiskey. After all a cask made of five different types of wood will never be the most well rounded of whiskeys…but it is a fantastic innovation that looks promising. I have to wonder what it would be more suited to an increased ABV though.
Al Higgins notes
Nose:
Salted caramel, roasted hazelnuts, new leather shoes, milk chocolate and chestnuts. Hard to believe this is a blend!
Palate:
Mellow, full-bodied and richly flavoured. Chocolate raisins, roasted pineapple, dried apricots, caramel bars and honeycomb. This hangs together really well and packs in a lot of flavour.
Finish:
More of those chocolate raisins and bags of fruit. As blends go this is right up there. Very enjoyable and yet bigger and more complex than some of the well-established ultra-premium blends on the market.
Overall:
Great fun and packed with flavour. Well worth looking out for.
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