Method and Madness Cherry Wood
A single pot still from the Midleton distillery aged in ex-Bourbon barrels and Sherry casks before being finished in nine wild cherry wood casks sourced from France. The porous nature of this wood is extremely difficult to work with. Bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered and RRP of €92.
Omar Fitzell Notes
A fresh beautiful nose packed with beautiful apples, unripen bananas, vanilla, honey and the usual pot still spices. There’s a unique woody note, almost like pine shavings.
Palate
A delicate start until there is a burst of fruit. Granny Smith apples in abundance. Ripe banana this time as it turns towards a ginger spice with some sweetness. Mouth feel throughout is nicely oily.
Finish
Bang. And I mean BANG. Out of nowhere there is an intense spice that the nose nor palate suggested. You do get some mint first but once the spice arrives it takes over as a sweet but peppery zing that prickles your entire mouth. Bittersweet comes to mind.
Overall
The Wild Cherry is certainly different. The nose and palate don’t match the finish. The peppery spice was a strange arrival if I’m honest. The intensity of it will be liked by a lot, however for me, it was the nose and palate that are the winners with the finish leaving to down for me. Very interesting whiskey overall. Top tip – water does nothing for this, but a square of dark chocolate mellows that finish.
Al Higgins notes
Nose
Very different. Reminiscent of aged grappa or Greek Tsipouro (look it up!). Cherry stones, amaretto, almonds, horchata and wine corks.
Palate
Sweet, juicy and pleasantly fruity. Certainly, less woody, less astringent than the nose suggested. Red berries, cherry stones, almonds, grappa, even some rosewater.
Finish
A light tannic note, gentle spice and more red berry fruit, finishing with balsamic strawberries.
Overall
Bring on the dessert and liqueurs. This might be on the fringe for some staunch pot still advocates, but for more epicurean drinkers it is quite fascinating and offers up some welcome new flavours.
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