Copeland Merchants' Quay Blended Whiskey (70cl, 40%)

Copeland Merchants' Quay is a blended Irish whiskey bottled at 40% in a 70cl bottle, with natural colour and without chill-filtration. It marries three components: a grain whiskey kept for twelve months in new American oak and a further 24 months in a re-charred bourbon cask, a double-distilled malt from a first-fill bourbon cask, and a triple-distilled malt from an Oloroso sherry butt. The Copeland Distillery created it with Brian Watts, master distiller at Great Northern Distillery in Dundalk, which supplied the distillates. The name comes from the harbour near Donaghadee, known in the 17th century as The Merchants' Quay. The nose brings toffee apple, dark berries and vanilla with clove spice and a hint of cedar. The palate is soft and fruity, with honey, orange peel and spicy oak. The finish is dry, shaped by toasted oak.