Dingle Grianstad an Tsamraidh

Dingle Grianstad am Tsamraidh

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster
Dark gold
52.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Plums, white grapes, vanilla, strawberry jam, cloves, cinnamon, prunes. With water, damson jam, cloves, white grapes, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, hot, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Black tea, black pepper, prunes, strawberry jam, cloves. With water, gooseberries, strawberry jam, cloves, black pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, plums, strawberry jam, black pepper, brown paper. 

Comments: 

Quite fruity, lots of estery notes, but the whisky isn’t as funky as a pot still. Lots of winey notes too, and water brings out some of the cloves and pepper even more. Interesting dram.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dingle Conocht an Erraigh

Dingle Conocht an Erraigh

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster
Amber copper
50.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sandalwood, pineapples, green tea, apricots, honeydew melons, cloves, nutmeg. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, warm, volatile. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Pineapples, pear drops, papayas, honeydew melons, cloves, vanilla, hints of fresh baked bread. 
Finish: Medium. Toffee, cloves, fresh baked bread, vanilla, pear drops. 

Comments: 

Fruity, with big notes of pineapples and honeydew melons. There’s a woody floral note on the nose as well. Perhaps it struggles slightly - even north of 50% the flavours are not too powerful - but it’s well constructed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dingle Conocht am Fomhair

Dingle Conocht am Fomhair

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Bright gold
50.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peaches, apricots, pineapples, passionfruit, orange peel, cinnamon. With water, peaches, orange peel, cinnamon. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, cool, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Passionfruit, peaches, honey, dates, grapefruit, orange peel, cinnamon. With water, orange peel, vanilla, honey, cinnamon. 
Finish: Short. Cinnamon, nutmeg, white pepper, peaches. 

Comments: 

Fruity and rich, lots of tropical and stone fruit. Water brings out vanilla, honey and cinnamon. A very drinkable and straightforward whisky, slips down easily and smoothly, almost quaffable.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dingle Lunasa

Dingle Lunasa 

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster
White wine 
50.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Ink, iron filings, sandalwood, malted grains, white grapes, apricots, peaches, hints of walnut skins. With water, ink, pear drops, lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, mouth coating, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Apricots, peaches, malted grains, walnut skins, white pepper, ink, hints of vanilla. With water, malted grains, white grapes, ink, lemon juice. 
Finish: Short. Ink, white grapes, malted grains, apricots. 

Comments: 

Plenty of bitter notes, but they’re buried quite deep. The surface notes are lightly fruity, even a little tart. But there’s something metallic and slightly chemical down underneath that.

Verdict:

I like this.

Dingle Samhain

Dingle Samhain 

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Golden, tinge of pink
50.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, raisins, white grapes, sandalwood, oak chips, apricots, hints of persimmons. With water, pear drops, apricots, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, cool, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Malted grains, ginseng, vanilla, apricots, white grapes, coffee, autumn leaves, hints of oak chips. With water, ginseng, black pepper, vanilla. 
Finish: Short. Coffee, ginseng, autumn leaves, black pepper. 

Comments: 

Fruity and tart, lots of bitter notes are apparent, but not immediately. Needs a little bit of air, then the fruit dissipates somewhat. The finish is unexpectedly bitter and earthy.

Verdict:

I like this.

Dingle Single Malt

Dingle Single Malt

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Bright yellow
46.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Photocopy paper, vitamin C tablets, lemon juice, sandalwood, pears, leather. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, astringent, warm. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Vitamin C tablets, malted grains, pears, fresh baked bread, white pepper, leather. 
Finish: Medium. Oats, fresh baked bread, pears, magic marker, honey. 

Comments: 

Finally, a Dingle core bottling. It’s rather tart, there’s a gritty citric taste that reminds me of Berocca tablets, but there’s also malt and cereals, with an estery edge. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Dingle Batch 5

Dingle Batch 5

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, brass polish, coffee, lemon sweets, orange peel, vanilla, sultanas. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, cool, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Brass polish, lemon sweets, pears, sultanas, chocolate, honey, vanilla, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Chocolate, coffee, vanilla, pears. 

Comments: 

Sweet and complex, with a very clear flavour profile. It tastes older than it is, which bodes well for Dingle. It’s a little like Rosebank, which is high praise.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dingle Batch No 6

Dingle Batch No 6

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Dark red 
46.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, lemon zest, sesame, fresh cut grass, tyre rubber, honey, red grapes, millet. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, astringent, loosens, warm. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Honey, sesame, tyre rubber, red grapes, cotton candy, sandalwood, millet, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Medium. Red grapes, cotton candy, orange peel, sage. 

Comments: 

Definitely an interesting whisky, has plenty of intensity, unlike many Irish whiskies. Lots of sweet notes, wreathed through with a sulphurous edge, tyre rubber and grainy millet.  Some lactic notes as well, but these are rather faint. Promising. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Dingle Single Malt Batch 4

Dingle Single Malt Batch 4

Official bottling
Single malt - Southern Ireland
Pink
46.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange zest, leather, pear drops, red grapes, nutmeg, sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, oily, loosens slightly, slippery. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Brown paper, nutmeg, sea salt, red grapes, orange zest, preserved plums, hints of damson jam. 
Finish: Short. Damson jam, orange zest, raisins, red grapes. 

Comments: 

Matured in a combination of bourbon, port and sherry casks. There's definitely a lot of cask influence here, sweet and fruity, nice oily mouthfeel, with some bitter damson in the finish. What's the spirit like? Well, hard to say. Perhaps it's slightly savoury. Anyhow, it's quite tasty.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.