The Busker Single Pot Still
The Busker · Royal Oak Distillery
An expressive, value-driven single pot still that punches well above its price — proof that careful cask selection in skilled hands can elevate even an entry-level expression.
Nose
Lifted orchard fruit and honeyed malt arrive first, layered with marzipan, soft vanilla, and a whisper of clove. A signature pot still pepperiness lingers in the background alongside buttered toast.
Palate
Creamy and rounded with a classic pot still oiliness — orchard peach, baked apple, and toasted almond mingle with caramel, gentle baking spice, and a thread of orange zest. The triple-cask maturation (bourbon, sherry, marsala) shows its hand in waves.
Finish
Medium-length and warming, with lingering vanilla, dried fruit, and a final crackle of green pot still spice.
- Mash Bill
- Mixed mash of malted and unmalted Irish barley (traditional single pot still composition)
- Distillation
- Triple-distilled in copper pot stills at Royal Oak Distillery
- Maturation
- Triple-cask matured in ex-bourbon, sherry, and marsala casks
- Single Pot Still
- No
- Chill-Filtered
- Yes
Cocktail Suggestion
The Carlow Cobbler — 2 oz Busker Single Pot Still, 0.5 oz dry oloroso sherry, 0.25 oz orange curaçao, 0.25 oz simple syrup. Shake briefly with crushed ice, pour unstrained into a rocks glass, top with more crushed ice, and garnish with an orange slice and mint sprig.
Food Pairing
Roast pork loin with apple and sage stuffing, or a wedge of aged Coolea cheese with honeycomb.
Crafted at Illva Saronno's Royal Oak Distillery in Carlow under the careful eye of master distiller Brendan Buckley, who personally selects each bourbon, sherry, and marsala cask to compose the Busker range.
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