Our Whiskey
WHISKEY & WOOD, A LOVE STORY
Discover Our Whiskeys
At Glendalough Distillery we are on a relentless search for the best flavours. We take inspiration from St.Kevin’s pursuit of something more meaningful in life, and his deep connection to nature. This sees us venturing into the deepest forests of the world, to find the rarest wood, that deliver the most thought-provoking flavours to our whiskey.
The World's Best Oak
A key influence on the flavour of our whiskey comes from the wood it has spent time in. There are countless nuances in how that wood effects and injects flavour; the straightness of the tree, the fineness of the grain, the size of the barrel or the depth of the char. Our wood program is a testament to our relentless pursuit of flavour.
American white oak forms the backbone of our maturation and where we venture off the beaten track is by finishing all of our whiskeys in a second (and sometimes third) very different cask. Irish, Japanese, French and Spanish oak are used to finish some of our various whiskeys. Each impart discernible, unique and exquisite flavours.
There are countless nuances in how that wood effects and injects flavour; the straightness of the tree, the fineness of the grain, the size of the barrel or the depth of the char. Our wood program is a testament to our relentless pursuit of flavour.
US Bourbon Barrels
EXPANDSpanish Oloroso Casks
EXPANDSingle Cask
EXPANDJapanese Mizunara
EXPANDIrish Oak
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US Bourbon Barrels
Our whiskeys spend a lot of their time in first-fill American white oak Bourbon casks. These 200 litre casks lay the flavour foundation that has become the backbone of the Irish whiskey taste. American oak casks impart a lot of flavour. Besides the fact that they've held Bourbon before we get them, the charred wood truly transforms new-make Irish whiskey.
We use a heavy char which really brings the wood alive but also softens the liquid in its early years for a smoother mouth feel. This char adds a charcoal mellowness, the sweetness of vanilla and hint of caramel that perfectly compliment the flavours already present in the spirit. These American oak casks also bring a beautiful golden hue to the whiskey.
Spanish Oloroso Casks
Our search for the most flavourful casks in the world first took us from the Wicklow mountains to the rolling hills of Spain where we obtain Oloroso sherry casks from Montilla in the Spanish countryside.
The Oloroso is a dark, fruity and nutty fortified wine from Montilla. The Oloroso that seasons our casks is made from the famed Pedro Ximénez grape.
The casks are lightly toasted rather than charred. This ensures we get clearer wood flavours. After around 2 years of holding Oloroso, we inspect and choose the casks.
The intense flavours these casks bring, imparts itself into our whiskey fast. Raisins, sultanas, candied peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and Christmas pudding are all clearly discernible in the whiskey.
Single Cask
Rare casks make unique whiskeys, and our Single Cask series perfectly captures the essence of our relentless search for the finest, most flavourful casks in the world which we proudly share with you.
This is an exceptional whiskey range that raises the bar on what’s possible with Irish single grain whiskeys. After over three years in a flame-charred bourbon cask, the liquids of this series are finished for around a year in 1 of 3 unique casks.
Grand Cru Burgundy casks from France previously steeped in full bodied pinot noir wine, bring complexity and depth to our Irish whiskey.
Canteiro aged Madeira casks from off the coast of Africa which held Madeira fortified wine, soak up and impart intense aromas and flavours created by the heat and tropical climate of their homeplace.
XO (6+ years) Calvados casks from the grazed orchards of Normandy in France have formerly stowed apple brandy for over 6 years.
Japanese Mizunara
Our relentless search for the most flavourful oak in the world took us from our own wooded mountains in Wicklow to those in the volcanic north of Japan, Hokkaido. This is where we found Mizunara, the most sought-after oak in the whiskey world.
As the first Irish whiskey distillery to use the rare and exotic Mizunara, we had very much ventured into the unknown.
The wood is very soft and porous with a tight grain, which is good for flavour but hard to cooper and prone to leaking. Ours is brought to the south of Japan to air dry in Miyzaki before coopering at Japan's only independent cooperage.
The casks are lightly charred.
Mizunara packs a punch of unique, exotic and exquisite flavours. The whiskey is vivid, but delicate with seamless depth. It is vibrant, fruity, and floral on the nose, enjoying a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel with notes of dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon. It makes for a pretty unique take on Irish whiskey.
Irish Oak
Our home is surrounded by mountains with Irish oak forests sprawling across them, and this is where our whiskey journey begins. These unique Irish oaks agive us the perfect way to get the flavour of where we’re from in Wicklow into our whiskey.
The casks we have crafted are 250-liter hogsheads, slow-toasted using oak fire, then given a level 3 char. The Irish oak amplifies the flavour of the bourbon casks while adding layers of sweetness and bready, woody, earthy notes.
To ensure the future of our native oak forests these trees are harvested under a Continuous Cover Forest Management System in which we plant seven saplings for every one oak tree felled.
Before Ireland was known as ""the emerald isle"", it was known throughout the old world as ""the wooded isle“ and we're very excited and proud to play a part in bringing Irish oak back into use for aging Irish whiskey while helping to manage these ancient forests and doing our bit for the regeneration of these beautiful, broad-leaf, deciduous woods