Glendalough Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Glendalough Distillery · Glendalough Distillery (with sourced whiskey; virgin Irish oak finishing in-house)
A genuinely singular pot still — the virgin Irish oak imparts a spice profile you won't find in sherry- or bourbon-matured peers, and at this price it punches well above its weight for adventurous drinkers.
Nose
Fresh-cut apple, buttery pastry, and toasted cereal open the glass, followed by cinnamon bark, orange zest, and a distinctive resinous note of freshly cut Irish oak — pine sap, cedar shavings, and a whisper of clove.
Palate
Creamy and viscous with the classic pot still 'chew' — green apple skin, barley sugar, and vanilla custard giving way to gingerbread, black pepper, and a woody, almost herbal spice from the virgin oak. A touch of honey and dried apricot rounds the mid-palate.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering baking spice, oak tannin, and a resinous cedar note that fades into malt and dried orange peel.
- Distillation
- Triple-distilled
- Maturation
- Initially matured in ex-bourbon barrels, then finished in virgin Irish oak casks coopered from sustainably harvested Wicklow oak
- Single Pot Still
- No
- Chill-Filtered
- Non-chill filtered
Cocktail Suggestion
The Upland Monk — 2 oz Glendalough Pot Still, 0.5 oz Bénédictine, 0.25 oz honey syrup, 2 dashes orange bitters. Stir with ice for 30 seconds, strain into a chilled coupe, express an orange peel over the surface and drop in.
Food Pairing
Roasted pork loin with apple-cider glaze and caraway-roasted parsnips — the whiskey's virgin-oak spice and orchard fruit mirror the caramelization on the pork while cutting the root vegetables' sweetness.
Nestled in the glacial valley beneath Ireland's Wicklow Mountains, Glendalough is the country's first craft distillery of the modern era, drawing its identity — and its virgin oak finishing casks — from the ancient highland forests that ring the monastic ruins of St. Kevin.
Be the first to comment.
Leave a comment
Waterford Sheestown Edition 8.1 Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Waterford
Waterford's single farm origin concept makes the barrel's influence a controlled variable, letting the barley itself speak. This Sheestown edition shows how terroir and restrained oak maturation can produce a whiskey of elegant precision. It's intellectual without being austere.
Midleton Dair Ghaelach Bluebell Forest Tree No. 4
Midleton
Midleton's Dair Ghaelach series is a masterclass in how maturation vessel transforms spirit. Tree No. 4 from Bluebell Forest showcases the furnace-like intensity of virgin Irish oak tamed by the decades-long patience of pot still maturation. At cask strength, it's a riveting study in heat shaped by time—bold, complex, and unmistakably Irish.
Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey
Teeling
Teeling's Blackpitts is a reminder that Irish whiskey and peat were once inseparable. The triple-distilled spirit softens the smoke into something nuanced and approachable. Named after the area of Dublin where malt was historically dried over peat fires, this is a history lesson in a glass.
Writers' Tears Marsala Cask Finish
Writers' Tears
This Marsala Cask Finish demonstrates what a well-chosen cask can do when the base spirit already has structure. The pot still component provides enough backbone that the finishing cask flatters rather than masks. A distinctive Irish whiskey that rewards slow sipping.