Explorer Peated Malt Tasting Set | 50% ABV

Is Peated Irish Underestimated?

When it comes to all things whisky, we’re pretty spoiled for choice these days. As covered on Dramface over recent articles, the amount of new distilleries producing and releasing liquid in the British Isles alone is staggering. How does one raise their head above the parapet? Stand out from the crowd and let the liquid do the talking!

Waterford isn't without its admirers and certainly not without its critics. It's a brand with a real marmite feel at the moment. It's cool to dislike and chastise the brand under Mark Reynier, and some of the critique is warranted. The sheer amount of releases from Waterford are impossible to keep up with, and with the mixture of the single farm releases with varying cask makeup it’s, for me, difficult to discern nuance and specific differences of the various farm, barley, soil and so on. With this confusing saturation we also see a lot of Waterford releases on secondary markets and auction sites, often well below their RRP.

I’m a fan of their Cuvée, however. It’s continuing to change and it’s been a bottle I’ve been meaning to repurchase and really investigate as I make my way down the bottle; to share it and get insight from others on their thoughts on the Waterford Whiskey development.

Here in Northern Ireland, I came across the releases of their peated liquid from a few folks who were invited to the Waterford Whiskey tasting held at the Friend at Hand in Belfast. The standout that night from those I spoke with was their Peated expressions. If I remember well, it was the Fenniscourt and Lacken available that night, so it’s been on my radar for some time to at least sample it before buying a bottle outright. I was lucky enough to try one of them back in December at a hotel in southern Ireland, albeit in a large whiskey tumbler. Unfortunate but enjoyable nonetheless, the sweet peated dram surprised me with its balance and grip. 

Peated whiskey in Ireland is a real area of potential growth; there’s really not a lot of Irish peated expressions for sale currently. While the island boasts a lot of brands, sourcing their whiskey from only a few distilleries, not many seem to go for a peated expression, though there are a few.

Silkie offers their own liquid which is peated, and a delight. Blackpitts is an expression released by Teeling, again using their own liquid. Perhaps Connemara is the whiskey that folks think of first when you mention ‘peated Irish’ and it’s a great stalwart of the type. The others are sourced peated from Hinch, who source their liquid from Great Northern Distillery, and Dunville, who source from Cooley Distillery, but this one is matured in ex-peated casks. So while the liquid itself isn’t peated, it’s still a nice ‘peaty’ dram.

It’s only a start, but I genuinely feel that Irish whiskey has a real chance to compete with the peated crowd from Scotland. A long way off from going toe-to-toe with the established Islay greats, perhaps, but as we see other distilleries in Scotland releasing exceptional peated Scotch, making moves to replace the outlandish prices for the likes of Lagavulin and Laphroaig and more, then why can’t Ireland be a part of that mix?

We’re seeing the rigid regions of Scotch whisky slowly breaking down and being chipped away from what we’ve known in the past, as flavour definitions for a scotch whisky making area have evolved each year. Tasting blind, you could easily confuse some new English whiskies as a Scotch, and I feel it’ll not be long before Irish Whiskey, especially with their peated liquid, is in the mix too.

Anyway, onto the drams in question for today’s piece. I paid around £35 for this tasting set direct from Waterford online shop. It was brought to my attention by our legend behind-the-scenes that is Jackie Muir. It’s unfortunately sold out at the point of writing, but I’d assume this should be made available again soon, or at least another iteration on their peated range as it evolves as the liquid matures.

Review 1/5

Waterford Cuvee Argot, Matured fully in a mixture of 37% first-fill US Oak, 19% Virgin US Oak, 19% Premium French Oak and 23% Vin Doux Naturel, 50% ABV

If you visit their website, make sure to use the Teireoir code [WILDCHI-LD] to get a real in-depth look at this liquid.

From Waterford:

‘Inspired by the greatest châteaux of Bordeaux as our ‘second wine’ – a little brother to The Cuvée, a compelling entry point to Waterford Whisky … with a Will o’ the Wisp of Irish peat.

Argot – pronounced “ar-go” a single malt whisky, brings together several of our Single Farm Origins for beguiling depth and ultimate complexity with a mere hint of true Irish peat.’

Nose

There’s a dough and yeast element to Waterford that’s a real foundation to their liquid, especially in the Cuvée. It has redcurrants and cranberry juice announcing themselves immediately. A little hint of strawberry jam and key lime pie and orange zest in the mix. It’s a little sharp on the first sniff, but it has an enticing dried wood and a heap of fruit that keeps me coming back. The fruits are a mix of orchard and berries. It’s ever so slightly herbal, with lavender oil coming through.

Palate

Honey immediately and a touch savoury. It’s nicely rounded, with a delicate enough mouthfeel. Crusty bread roll, crushed green grapes and that herbal kick from the nose comes through on the palate nicely. The herbs develop into wafts of oregano and thyme. There’s dark chocolate and coffee beans that linger throughout this pour. I’d say this has a medium to long finish, not bad for the first sip.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/5

Waterford Arcadian Series, Peated Fenniscourt, 38PPM, Irish Peat and Irish Barley. Casks: 33% First Fill U.S., 18% Virgin U.S., 20% Premium French, 29% Vin Doux Naturel, 50% ABV

Use the Teireoir code [P023E01-01] through their website for more.

From Waterford:

‘Fenniscourt in Co. Carlow has been farmed by the Byrne family since 1870, its rich Elton Series soils nourished by the River Barrow. For this whisky, their barley was kiln-dried during malting by heat generated from sphagnum-rich peat from Niall Carroll’s cuttings at Ballyteige, Co. Kildare.’

Nose

A hint of brine, dried leaves and wisps of smoke. Nice earthy elements with damp wood and decomposing vegetables. Distinctly yeast and bread forward, which is a delight. Orange marmalade, lemon meringue and velvety brandy cream. Cigarette smoke, dried tobacco and wet coffee grounds. Walnuts, nutmeg and a hint of chocolate orange.

Palate

Potent. Floral, which turns into elderflower with such a delicious sweet smoke. Balanced nicely with icing sugar, unlit cigar and maple bacon. It reminds me of chicken stock too. Almost soil-like. Chopped roasted pecans, more maple syrup and weirdly some similar flavours to buttery mashed potato.

A really nice, soft mouthfeel. A delicious balance of smoke and sweetness with this one. Stewed apples and a long finish, hint of effervescence and a lingering lemon lime element in there too. Delightfully peated and a level of enjoyment I didn’t expect.

Score: 7/10

Review 3/5

Waterford Arcadian Series, Peated - Lacken, Casks: 39% First Fill U.S., 20% Virgin U.S., 18% Premium French, 23% Vin Doux Naturel, 50% ABV

Use the Teireoir code [P036E01-01] through their website for more.

From Waterford:

‘The Lacken is meant to be one of the most heavily-peated Irish whiskies of all time, boasting remarkable phenol parts per million rates of 57ppm. With the likes of Connemara coming in at around 13-14 ppm.’

Nose

A little quiet and refined. Whole cherries, honeycomb and mixed spice. More of that lovely foundational yeasty nose that I find in Waterford whiskies. Despite the specs, there’s very little smoke or peat, to me, on the nose with this one. You have to dig deep and explore to find it. Some charred wood comes out and hot ash with more dried leaves. A mix of hazelnuts and a hint of cardamom pod too.

Palate

Blasts of sugar and peat smoke with sliced ham and honey mustard sauce. Very wood driven and it’s turning quite sour which is unexpected. I imagine it’s like licking a dry plank of wood. Strong bitter black coffee, HP brown sauce and tinned sweetcorn. Back end of it reminds me of some PVA glue with a longer, sharper finish than I expected. It started off well but ended up astringent and sour as it developed.

Score: 5/10

Review 4/5

Waterford Arcadian Series, Peated - Woodbrook, Casks: 33% first fill US, 18% virgin US, 20% premium French and 29% Vin Doux Naturel, 50% ABV

Use the Teireoir code [P023E01-01] through their website for more.

Nose

Different nose on this one; it's a bit more honied, compared to the peat I expected. A mix of all spice and raisins, and little blasts of white pepper and chilli powder. This is a lot more spirit-driven than the other drams so far, and I think this whiskey is only around three years old, so young enough. Hessian bag, yeasty yet again but much sharper and hard to dig deeper into this one to tease out more notes.

Palate

A touch funky if I'm honest. It reminds me ever so slightly of an Islay single malt, but I know it isn't which is confusing me. We have the peat smoke as the prominent note and fresh lemon zest with hint of cold, cooked white flaked fish, bell peppers and a touch peppery on the tongue. The back end has a blend of salt and shortbread biscuits with chopped apples which mixes quite nicely. This dram doesn't develop much beyond that and becomes a little flat and one dimensional as you continue to sip on through it. A light mouthfeel, a long finish and a lingering smoke note throughout.

Score: 4/10

Review 5/5

Waterford Arcadian Series, Peated - Cuvee Fimu, 50% ABV

Use the Teireoir code [PECVE01-01] through their website for more.

From Waterford:

‘Cuvée Fumo celebrates the coming-together of barley – both Irish grown & peated – from four Single Farm Origins for complexity, & two distinct harvests for harmony.’

Nose

Buttercream. Sponge cake and strawberry jam. Walnuts, fresh rhubarb and subtle peat smoke. Burnt twigs and a hint of rosemary. Yeast and dough, as expected, which is a delightful note. Icing sugar with a rich lemon curd.

Palate

More oomph and grip on the initial sip here which has piqued my interest; it’s velvety with a great mouthfeel. The mellow and delicate smoke mixes nicely with cubed melon and a nice pear element too. It reminds me of pear drop hard sweets. There's a lot of flavour here, even if it's coming across a bit youthful. Fruit salad from a tin with sugar syrup. Wood smoke, damp earth and cleaning cloth here too. A liquid that clings to the tongue and lingers on and on with a delicious pineapple freshness that lingers well after the dram is gone.

Score: 6/10

The Dregs

I’m glad to have purchased this tasting set, in order to get a better insight into the peated liquid from Waterford. I’ve stated before, with so much variance and releases out there from the Irish distillery, it can be overwhelming to work out what to buy. So tasting sets like this allow me to sample their product, without committing to a quite expensive ask of around £80 for one of their peated bottles.

The best of this bunch is the Fenniscourt expression. Delicious stuff and I think, as a treat, I’d pay the money for this bottle to have and share.

Overall, it was a great tasting experience and I had a lot of fun delving into these peated Waterford drams. Each pour had a great doughy, yeasty quality that I love from Waterford. I get it from Dingle too. It’s an interesting angle on what Irish Whiskey could bring to the market and a different take on peat. there’s a sweeter tint to it compared to the whiskies from Scotland that we already know and love. 

A few disappointing drams in the flight, but maybe could have been a bit more enjoyable on their own as a standalone pour. Looking at their individual codes via Waterford, with a bigger breakdown it’s clear to see with some of these that it is indeed young whiskey. Just over that three year old mark. Which ain’t bad, and makes you wonder how this will evolve and grow as their liquid matures.

The problem in my opinion, is the hope that the cask make up remains somewhat consistent across the board as these peated whiskies age. Being able to taste the peated range from Waterford as it matures is a fun prospect but hard to determine as farms, barley and cask maturation seems to change quite often with their releases. I suppose we need to wait and see what’s to come.

I highly recommend delving into the unique codes provided and the in-depth analysis of each dram in this tasting set through the Waterford Whisky website. A ‘Teireoir Code’ section sits on the top right hand side of their web pages, in which you can enter the code at the back of a full bottle or smaller sample bottle. The amount of detail and transparency is on another level, you can feast on it for days.

In exploring these peated whiskies, and my enjoyment of their Cuvée series, I find myself liking some releases from Waterford and would plant myself somewhere between their critics and lovers, in the realm of ‘keenly interested’ for what’s coming next. Tell us what you think.

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. HF

Other opinions on these:

Whiskybase (Argot Cuvée)
Whiskybase (Lacken)
Whiskybase (Woodbrook)
Whiskybase (Fenniscourt)

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.