The Lambay Malt Irish Whiskies!
To celebrate St. Patricks’s Day Lambay Whiskey was the subject of last Monday nights @TweetTastings.
Steve from The Whisky Wire guided us through two Irish Whiskies:-
- Lambay Malt Irish Whiskey
- Lambay Single Cask Strength Irish Whiskey
The Lambay Whiskey Brand was inspired by Cyril Camus, President of Maison Camus; an independent Cognac house since 1863, which remains one of the last family owned cognac houses.
Camus previously created the world’s first maritime matured cognac, Ille De Ré. Having explored the impact of maritime conditions on these casks and seeing how the Irish whiskey category was growing he wanted to create a truly unique Irish whiskey with a cognac cask finish, using the influence of the sea in maturation.
Partnering with his friend Alexander Baring, the owner of privately owned Lambay island, located in the Irish Sea off the coast of north County Dublin, they converted the old lifeguard boathouses into what are now bonded warehouses for their casks.
Lambay island is private nature reserve and was chosen because it is always a few degrees warmer than the mainland and right on the gulf stream. It has the highest portion of sea spray aerosols in Europe making it perfect for cask maturation in their bonded warehouse.
(Apologies to Steve for pinching his notes!)
There is also an opportunity to WIN a Lambay Small Batch Gift Set for you and a friend!
For more details go to thewhiskywire.com and get entering!
If you want to catch up on what all the tweet tasters had to say you can view their comments by searching for the hash tag #LambayWhiskey on Twitter.
AND we managed to trend 9th. on Twitter in Ireland – a great finish for our St. Patrick’s Day Tasting!
So, what did I think?
Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!
Tasting Notes – Lambay Malt Irish Blended Whiskey (43%)
Available from Lambays’s online store for €50.00
A blend of single malts that are both double and triple distilled. Matured in bourbon barrels for at least three years, before being finished in cognac casks from the renowned Maison Camus.
Lambay Malt Irish Whiskey, was the result of a complex process of consistent testing back and forth to ensure the light and delicate notes of the bourbon cask matured single malts weren’t overtaken or dominated by the cognac cask finish.
Lambay Island’s own volcanic Trinity Well water was added at the final stage of finishing before bottling.
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Nose: A little tropical with a big slice o’ banoffee pie! Popcorn, creamy vanilla, apples and cereal notes. Lemon, citrus and oak also make an appearance. After a time some nice porty aromas appear – which was nice! Palate: Creamy, vanilla custard, with hints of tropical fruit. Some growing popcorn and refreshing rose water. Finish: Punchy pepper with a little chocolate I think. The sweet tropical flavours are still there though. Overall: All-in-all a very sippable dram – plenty going on! |
| Available to buy from these Merchants:- |
Tasting Notes – Lambay Single Cask Strength – Cask 4613 – Irish Single Malt Whiskey (56.5%)
Limited to 400 bottles and launching April 1st. via their online store, for a RRP of €120.00
Initially matured in bourbon barrels for four years, before being finished in cognac casks from Maison Camus for three years.
The Lambay Single Cask Strength bottlings, are from the earliest casks laid down on Lambay back in 2018. Twenty casks were set aside for their Barrel Program and Cask 4613 is the fourth cask release and the only one so far released to the public.
Camus are known for their rich aromatic cognacs, but the casks Lambay use are not always old, as the younger casks are higher in sweet compounds, rather than the deeper rancios notes that you get from the older casks.
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Nose: Slow burner me thinks … patience required … So, vanilla toffee, floral loveliness, honey and stewed fruits – a great nose! Palate: Rich, intense, cane sweetness with tropical flavours and banana. There’s glorious licorice & fennel – very unusual – and it had all the tweeters harking back to the childhood sweets they used to love! Finish: Very sweet finish with fiery pepper fighting it all the way! Overall: A very interesting and tasty dram – I’d be curious to know if further releases from their earlier casks produce these types of flavours! |
| Available to buy from these Merchants:- |
My Favourite On The Night
Out of the 2, I think it’s got to be the Lambay Single Cask Strength – such an unusual tasty dram that makes me want to come back for more!
Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TheWhiskyWire / @TweetTastings) for a great evening and Lambay Whiskey (@LambayWhiskey) for sending the generous samples!
Many thanks to Lambay Whiskey for sending such generous samples!
My fellow Tweet Tasters on the night were:-
@TheWhiskyWire @whiskeychap @WhiskyWings @whiskyrover @SpiritAndWood @WhiskyGeekPete @MrEdwardMilner @whiskyRubhach @ReviewsWhisky @WhiskyApocalyps @Whisky_And1 @houstonbrian @FiShoop @Sav70 @whiskey_paddy @Jamiewronan @Teachmor1 @sekurumbudzi @stepheny7168 @dram_gazette @antheocy @ManyMilesWhisky @_PMcDermott @HelenORahilly @StillTripleDist @missjudithboyle @ultanfinegan @DavidMarra @MaltyMission
