Clonakilty Double Oak Cask (70cl, 43.6%)

Clonakilty Double Oak Cask is a single-batch Irish blend that marries ten-year-old grain whiskey with four-year-old malt whiskey. Both are matured in ex-bourbon casks, then finished for three to six months in new American oak and in ex-Bordeaux red wine casks made from European oak. The wine casks are scraped out and re-toasted to the distillery's own specification. Clonakilty calls this style New Era of Cask, and this was the first Irish whiskey with such a finish. It is bottled at 43.6% in a 70cl bottle, non-chill-filtered and without added colouring. The nose combines soft spice, vanilla and freshly cut grass. The palate brings cubeb pepper, ginger, hazelnut and almond, and the finish is long, with sweet vanilla and lingering spice.