In feb 2021 we held a tasting with Waterford Whiskey from Ireland, virtually connecting with the team at the distillery while tasting some of their wares. Waterford’s raison d’etre is to evaluate and demonstrate the effect of terroir on whiskey, much like with the wine industry. They closely monitor the climate and soil conditions at their various farms, creating single farm whiskeys and blends thereof. They use no enzymes, Laureate barley grain and very tight distillation cuts. Here are some pictures of the event, the amazing tracking dashboards they use for their experiments and some notes on the whiskeys we tried:

Leonard Ashmore farm spirit (new make) 70.97% ABV – super farmy and vegetal, raisins, orange peel, cereal

Patrick Lennon Farm spirit (new make) 70.09% ABV – light fruit, salty, barnyard earth on the palate.

Waterford Sheestown 1.2 50% ABV – american first fill ex-bourbon, some birgin casks, french wine casks. 4 years old.

• Nose: banana cream pie, hay, lemongrass, orange peel, banana bread, spicy
• Palate: baking spice, dry, barley cereal, ginger spice, citrus, chocolate
• Finish: short, bitter, citrus, spice

Waterford Ballymorgan 1.2 50% ABV

• Nose: spice, cereal, citrus
• Palate: cereal, fruit, spice, light oak, apple, light chocolate
• Finish: spicy, fruity, apples

Waterford Gaia Organic 1.2 50% ABV

• Nose: oak, woodspice, citrus, salt
• Palate: ceral forward, spice, fruit, brine, earth, mineral, stone fruit
• Finish: medium, spice, fruit, quite good!