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| Photo from Irish Whiskey Society on Flickr |
It's not your typical Tullamore Dew, which is a blend of pot still, malt and grain whiskeys. This is a 12 year old single malt, made at Bushmills distillery. The final 6 months of maturation were spent in second-fill sherry butts in a Tullamore Dew warehouse in Clonmel.
I haven't tried it myself but it turned up at a tasting of 12 year old Irish whiskeys at a recent Irish Whiskey Society meeting. It seems to have polarized the room: a few really liked it, most really didn't.
I like that they are experimenting, at least. I hope they come up with one bottling, no matter how limited, that has a little something special with wide appeal. Just so the brand gets a look in when we are talking about favourite whiskeys. Tullamore Dew is a very successful brand, of course, and I'd happily order one over ice in a pub. But there isn't a great whiskey just for savouring in the line-up. (I'd have adopted the Black 43 as my "house blend" if it hadn't been discontinued).
There is a chance to do something special for a "distillery bottling" that will only be sold at the visitor centre just opened in Tullamore. Perhaps they have already have something interesting maturing in that Clonmel warehouse.