A short while ago, I have introduced Waterford Peated: Fenniscourt 1.1 here on these pages. Now I follow up with the distillery’s second Peated expression, namely Waterford Peated: Ballybannon 1.1. The whisky is made from barley grown at Ballybannon Farm, after which it is also named. According to the Waterford website, this location halfway between the distillery and the country’s capital of Dublin “could be the perfect terroir for growing barley for peating”. With Waterford Peated: Ballybannon 1.1 they embraced this aplenty, smoking the utlized malt to no less than 47 ppm. This is apparent throughout the entire degustation: The peaty pour fills the nostrils with fumes, covers the tongue in ash, and leaves behind a thick cloud of grey smoke in the throat. But that is not all. Just like its sister bottling Waterford Peated: Fenniscourt 1.1, this top-class Irish single malt whisky (yes, in Waterford’s case it’s written without an “e”) is pretty colorful, diverse, and multifarious. I really enjoy this particular style of “peaty”, which offers more than enough reek to satisfy the peatheads, but also provides lots and lots of other notes left and right of that. If you have the chance, be sure to check out this smasher as well as Waterford’s other peated release (which originates from Fenniscourt farm). They are both well worth your attention and will hopefully kick the door wide open for more smoky releases from this creative, innovative distillery based on the South coast of Ireland!

by Tobi

Eye: Like apple juice.
Nose: The smoke is strong in this one – especially during the nosing! First, chimney wood mingles with cigarette puff. Then further scents unfold: Hay, zest, peel, lime, flowers. There’s lots of minerals in there, too, and an underlying cake n’ cookie sweetness. Here and there, I even get a whiff that reminds me of a strong, fruity bock beer.
Palate: A delicate maltiness ushers in a rush of honey, toffee, raisin, spearmint, grape, and cookie. The peat is, of course, also very present here. It is many-layered and ever-changing: sometimes it tastes ashen, sometimes aromatic, sometimes perfumed.
Finish: Medium long with all kinds of chewy, milky, fresh, and chocolate-y flavors. Plus sugared tea, softened licorice, sweet fudge, and grey smoke.

Type: Single Malt Irish Whisky
Region: Ireland
Age: NAS
Alc. volume: 50 per cent
Bottle size: 0.7 litres
Price: ~80.00 Euro
More info: https://waterfordwhisky.com/ (Distillery) ; https://kirschwhisky.de/ (Distributor)

*** Whisky bottle kindly provided by Kirsch Import. Thank you. ***