I had my first touchpoint with Beara Distillery a couple of weeks ago at Just Whisky Hamburg. There, I met the founder of the small production site, John Power, at the booth of Irish Whiskeys. While I sipped a generous dram of Black Cask Blend, he told me more about it: The whiskey – which is John’s personal favorite from the Beara range – is made from both malt and grain sourced from Great Northern Distillery. There is a practical reason for this: Beara’s own output is simply too small to support a consistent line-up of permanently available expressions. The wood formula includes traditional ex-Bourbon casks as well as heavily charred virgin oak casks. The bottle is a custom-made eye-catcher paying homage to Beara’s seaside location and heritage. And the dram? Well, that one is a palate-pleasing everyday sipper that is really fun to drink. It is not overly complicated, yet it is not flat either; if you give it some time and grant yourself a refill or two, you will bit by bit discover lots of great aromas and flavors in Black Cask Blend. For just under 40 quid per bottle, this one marks a very affordable and highly recommendable addition to your whiskey cabinet!

by Tobi

Eye: Chestnut.
Nose: A beguiling sweetness rises from the glass’s bulpy belly. It is rich with crunchy brittle, roasted almond, jellied orange, zesty tangerine, chocolate-dipped grape, and chewy lemon cake. Furthermore, there’s a splash of aromatic rosehip tea and a dash of fine Christmas spice.
Palate: The whiskey is extremely savory with heaps of baked goods, delicate fruits, flavored zests, mild spices, and crumbled walnuts. Plus a few grains of salt scattered overhead. Even with a pretty leveled ABV of 40 per cent, Beara’s Black Cask Blend is full of flavor and rich with character!
Finish: More sweetness, more nuttiness! The dram’s medium finish provides nut splinters, milk chocolate, puff pastry, orange jam, and toffee bites – all freshened up by a wood kick from the virgin oak casks, in which this dapper drop was partly matured and finished.

Type: Blended Irish Whiskey
Region: Ireland
Age: NAS
Alc. volume: 40 per cent
Cask type: ex-Bourbon & Charred Virgin Oak
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price range: ~35.00 Euro
More info: https://www.thebearadistillery.ie/ (Distillery) ; https://www.irish-whiskeys.de/ (Importer)

*** I bought the bottle as a regular customer. ***