Irish whiskey is a sleeping giant who’s only recently woken up from a long slumber. But now that he’s back on his feet, the colossus is here to stay! – To better understand this picture, it is helpful to go 10-or-so years back in time. Back then, the once-glorious whiskey nation of Ireland had less than a handful operating distilleries. Today, Ireland houses more than 40 units of different sizes, styles, and orientations. One of the first independent production sites to spearhead the new wave of Irish craft distilling is Dingle on the eponymous peninsula in the very West of the country. In a recent online tasting, which was organized by Dingle’s distributor Kirsch Import and run by their brand ambassador Dave Cummins, I got to deep-dive into the distillery’s history and portfolio. The four drams we had were the permanently available Single Malt Irish Whiskey and the first three releases in the limited “Wheel of the Year” series: Samhain, La le Bride, and Bealtaine.

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One thing that is special about Dingle is their total dedication to an old-styled way of working. “Dingle’s been productive for ten years now,” Dave explained. “Throughout all our existence, we’ve always done every workstep by hand. Both our mashtuns and fermenters are made of wood, and there’s no automation or computers involved in our production. To get an idea of how we’re making our whiskey, imagine how it’s been done in the old days – and then go even further back in time!” In case of the Single Malt Irish Whiskey, which is vatted from 61 per cent 1st-fill sherry casks and 39 per cent 1st-fill bourbon barrels, Dingle’s thoughtful approach to whiskey-making brought forth a really great drop that is dangerously savory. Regarding its complexion, the dram is really full, oily, and waxy. Dave credits this quality to Dingle’s so-called “squat stills”, whose small swan necks are specially designed to produce “an oily spirit that clings to the mouth”. Smell- and taste-wise, the whiskey brims with autumn fruits and apple peel as well as honey, crop, cinnamon, oak, cherrie, and pear. It also has some kind of a flowery note to it, which makes it even more fun.

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With Halloween being my favorite holiday of the year, I instantly fell in love with Samhain – the first “Weel of the Year” bottling celebrating the traditional Celtic fest from which today’s scariest night of the year derived. The whiskey is 7 years old and double-matured in bourbon barrels (4 years) and muscatel casks (3 years). It comes with an elevated strength of 50.5 per cent ABV, and lots of sweetness. I had vanilla sauce, lemon creme, and ginger cookies in the nose as well as burnt almonds, sugar canes, and banana-flavored ice cream on the tongue. The aftertaste lasted long and emphasized on aromatic, dark chocolate. I can very much imagine buying a full bottle and revisiting Dingle Samhain on October 31st … and many other nights throughout the year! La le Bride, which references St. Brigid’s Day, is also double-matured. Before it was bottled, the whiskey slept 4.5 years in bourbon casks and then another 2.5 years in rye casks from Sagamore Spirit. Its most striking quality is a pronounced spiciness. According to Dave, that is also the reason why many drammers at tastings first assume that La le Bride was a pot still whiskey. In the nostrils, I sensed blossoming summer flowers and grasses as well as a hint of red fruits and lots of crushed pepper. In the mouth, I registered butter cookies, unripe kiwis, and yellow gummi bears alongside more hay and grass. The dry-ing finish was rich with zest, grass, spice, and wood. This, again, was a really nice sip!

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Our fourth and last dram was Bealtaine, which pays tribute to the Celtic summer festival of the same name. At 52.5 per cent ABV, this single pot still whiskey constituted the strongest pour in the line-up. It is made from 60 per cent malted barley and 40 per cent raw barley. Like all “Wheel of the Year” whiskeys, Bealtaine is double-matured, too. It first spent 4.5 years in 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrels and then 2.5 years in Shiraz red wine casks from Australia. Before we tried it for ourselves, Dave introduced it as “a really nice attack on the senses!” And indeed, Bealtaine turned out to be taste n’ scent galore – with the Shiraz casks making an especially strong impact on both the aroma and the flavor. To me, this wine-forward whiskey smelled of wild strawberries, soft plums, and dark chocolate; and it tasted of bramble jam, orange jelly, dried potpourri, and coconut flakes. The finale lasted long and the echo, which kept resounding in the mouth and throat, was loud and good. Just like Dingle’s first two “Wheel of the Year” whiskeys, this one totally convinced me with its strong character and exceptional make. And somehow I have a feeling that I will also say this about the yet-to-be-released rest of the series once I have gotten the chance to try the respective bottlings one after another.

by Tobi

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The drams

Dingle Single Malt (Single malt / Ireland / NAS / Bourbon & sherry / 46.3% / EUR 45)
Dingle Samhain (Single malt / Ireland / NAS / Bourbon & muscatel / 50.5%) / EUR 85)
Dingle La le Bride (Single malt / Ireland / NAS / Bourbon & rye / 50.5%) / EUR 85)
Dingle Bealtaine (Single malt / Ireland / NAS / Bourbon & shiraz / 52.5%) / EUR 85)

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Dingle @ Web: https://dingledistillery.ie/
Kirsch Import @ Web: https://kirschwhisky.de/

*** I got the invitation to the tasting and the whiskeys
for free from Kirsch Whisky. Thank you. ***