The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey
The Silkie · Sliabh Liag Distillers (sourced and blended in Donegal)
A characterful, sherry-and-peat-tinged blend that punches well above its price — a modern echo of Donegal's historic distilling character and worth keeping on the shelf.
Nose
Toasted oak and dark toffee lead, followed by wisps of peat smoke, black cherry, prune, and a whisper of clove. Time in the glass draws out roasted coffee bean and singed orange peel.
Palate
Full-bodied and oily, with dark chocolate, treacle, and dried figs meeting a restrained coastal smokiness. Malt-driven sweetness balances a savory char, with black pepper and stewed plum threading through.
Finish
Long and warming, with lingering cocoa, pipe tobacco, and a dry ember-like smoke that fades slowly into cracked walnut.
- Mash Bill
- Blend of Irish malt, grain, and pot still whiskeys; portion of the malt component lightly peated
- Distillation
- Sourced Irish whiskeys triple-distilled in traditional Irish style; blended and finished at Sliabh Liag's Ardara facility in Donegal
- Maturation
- Matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels and Oloroso sherry casks
- Single Pot Still
- No
- Chill-Filtered
- No
Cocktail Suggestion
The Cliff Walk — 2 oz Legendary Dark Silkie, 0.5 oz Pedro Ximénez sherry, 2 dashes orange bitters, 1 dash chocolate bitters. Stir over ice, strain into a chilled coupe, express an orange peel over the top and drop in.
Food Pairing
Slow-braised short ribs with dark chocolate mole, or a wedge of aged Cashel Blue with fig preserves.
Sliabh Liag Distillers, founded by James and Moira Doherty beneath Europe's highest sea cliffs, revived a Donegal whiskey tradition dormant since the 1840s, blending in the peated, maritime style once native to Ireland's rugged northwest.
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