The Still & The VineSchool of Wine & Spirits
Echlinville Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Irish Whiskey

Echlinville Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Echlinville · The Echlinville Distillery

92 proofNASKircubbin, Ards Peninsula, County Down, Northern Ireland
A genuine estate-to-glass single malt with a distinctive coastal, mineral profile — one of the most quietly ambitious releases in modern Irish whiskey and a compelling counterpoint to the Midleton–Cooley axis.

Kit Aromas

Tasting Notes

Nose

A chalky, flinty lift opens the glass — think wet slate and sea spray — followed by warm barley sugar, orchard pear, toasted almond, and a whisper of oloroso-driven raisin and clove.

Palate

Medium-bodied and gently oily, layering honeyed malt over baked apple, dried apricot, and cracked black pepper; a mineral, saline thread runs beneath a coil of woodsmoke from the toasted cask staves.

Finish

Long and warming, drying to hazelnut skin, orange oil, and a lingering ember of clove and sea-salted caramel.

Specifications
Distillation
Triple-distilled in traditional copper pot stills
Maturation
Matured in a combination of first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and oloroso sherry casks
Single Pot Still
No
Chill-Filtered
Non-chill filtered
Serve & Pair

Cocktail Suggestion

The Ards Ember — 2 oz Echlinville Single Malt, 0.5 oz dry oloroso sherry, 0.25 oz honey syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters. Stir with ice, strain into a chilled coupe, and express an orange peel over the surface before dropping it in.

Food Pairing

Seared scallops with brown butter, toasted hazelnuts, and a squeeze of blood orange — mirroring the whiskey's saline malt and nut-oil warmth.

The Story

Founded by Shane Braniff on his family's Ards Peninsula estate, Echlinville became the first licensed distillery in Northern Ireland in over 125 years, growing, floor-malting, and distilling its own barley within sight of the Irish Sea.

Train These Aromas
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