Irish Reserve 26 Year Old (70cl, 40%)
$260.00
A 26 Year Old Irish single malt whiskey specially produced for Aldi.
Another day, another long-aged Aldi single malt. An Irish whiskey this time, and once again I’ve elbowed my way past the natural Malt correspondent to chip in with my tuppence worth first.
26years, in Irish whiskey terms, is ages. A quick scroll through any of the obvious channels will yield hundreds of scotch whiskies of that age or older, but properly mature Irish is much thinner on the ground.
It’s brilliant to see Aldi move beyond Scotland when putting together their rare whisk(e)y offering for this year. Makes one hope that their gaze might turn upon the USA – or even Canada – in 2018.
Category Single Malt Distillery
Tasting Note
On the nose: Goodness me! Absolute fruit-grenade of a nose, with the accent strongly on tropical. Pineapple, mango, apricot, guava – they’re all here, in both their fresh and dried forms. There’s burnt orange peel too, with some vanilla and dairy cream on the side. Custard cream biscuits. Woodier aspects impose themselves as the whiskey sits; saw-mill character á la Glen Marnoch. Also pinewood, apple rind, and a deeper, herbal rosemary.
In the mouth: Still a lot of tropical fruit, but it makes way for the malt to impose itself a little more. Deeper than the Glen Marnoch 29; the initial delivery before the juicy fruit kicks in is of dark brown sugar and malty biscuits. Flapjacks and honey. More evidence of char, nutmeg and spicy oak towards the finish. Medium body; as with the Glen Marnoch, it feels a little dilute. Feels more mature than the Glen Marnoch, incidentally, and better balanced, whilst still being sweetish. Towards the finish, a little bitterness and excessive woodiness rears its head. Concludes a little abruptly.
Related products
Irish Whiskey
