Waterford Hook Head 1.1

Waterford Hook Head 1.1

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster
Amber gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Caramel, cinder toffee, yoghurt, lemon zest, autumn leaves, hints of mushrooms. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, expands, airy, volatile. 
Tasting:  Sour. Yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, autumn leaves, caramel, burnt sugar, hints of toast. 
Finish: Medium. Autumn leaves, yoghurt, lemon zest, burnt sugar, hints of mushrooms. 

Comments: 

Quite lactic and earthy, but with a deep, smoky toffee note. Bottled at 50% as with most Waterfords, so I never quite know whether to add water or not. For this one I decided not to, as I enjoyed the richness of that toffee note. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Organic Gaia 2.1

Waterford Organic Gaia 2.1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Pale copper
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, malted grains, mushrooms, pineapples, orange peel, hints of honey. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Cookie dough, malted grains, pears, pineapples, orange peel, honey, hints of shortcrust pastry. 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, toffee, honey. 

Comments: 

Waterford usually smells like mushrooms when it’s first out of the bottle. It’s not something I’m a particular fan of, but after a while it fades to reveal toasty, vanilla and fruity, with a hint of pastry. It then moves to short and slightly weak finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Peated Ballybannon 1.1

Waterford Peated Ballybannon 1.1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Orange gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Farmyard, peat, hay, fresh cut grass, fresh baked bread, apple juice, hints of caramel. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, mouth coating, airy, expands. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Apple juice, farmyard, blue cheese, peat, dunnage, caramel, smoke, fresh baked bread.
Finish: Short. Dark chocolate, dunnage, apple juice, peat, smoke. 

Comments: 

Peated Waterford is new in my experience. It’s rather funky and farmyardy, with a good sweet core of apple juice and dunnage. The smoke is gentle and restrained.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford The Cuvée

Waterford The Cuvée 

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Mushrooms, cinnamon, salt caramel, tablet, honey, hints of white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, tingly, expands. 
Tasting:  Sour. Photocopy paper, tablet, white pepper, sultanas, magic marker, hints of cookie dough. 
Finish: Medium. Cookie dough, vanilla, white pepper, cinnamon, hints of salt caramel. 

Comments: 

It’s got Waterford’s signature note of earthy mushrooms, but here it’s layered with sweet cookie dough, vanilla and some piquant acetone notes. Rather unique, but unbalanced.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Lakefield 1.1

Waterford Lakefield 1.1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Light gold 
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, cinder toffee, nori, mushrooms, lemon zest, fresh cut grass. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, warm, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Cinder toffee, cream, lemon zest, nori, malted grains, petrichor. 
Finish: Short. Mushrooms, petrichor, cinder toffee, hints of butterscotch. 

Comments: 

Eartthy and mushroomy, some cinder toffee notes. Quite similar to other Waterfords. I’m less convinced terroir matters in whisky, it’s really about distillate and wood management.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Bannow Island Edition 1.1

Waterford Bannow Island Edition 1.1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Pale golden brown 
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, autumn leaves, lemon zest, marshmallows, sour cream, hints of magic marker, hints of mushrooms. With water, magic marker, lemon zest, photocopy paper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, tingly, loosens. 
Tasting:  Sour. Sour cream, malted grains, raisins, lemon zest, marshmallows, cinder toffee, cinnamon, hints of mushrooms. With water, cinder toffee, vanilla, marshmallows, hints of mushrooms. 
Finish: Short. Marshmallows, cinnamon, sour cream, magic marker. 

Comments: 

I’m a little wary of Waterford after some previous experiences, but this one met expectations. Lots of sweet flavours coalesce around an earthy, slightly savoury core. Quite pleasant.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Micro Cuvée Primavera

Waterford Micro Cuvée Primavera

Official bottling 
Single malt - Munster
Bright gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee apples, malted grains, cinder toffee, honeycomb, cream, vanilla, hints of mushrooms. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Cream, lemon juice, cinder toffee, honeycomb, aluminium foil, marshmallows, hints of toffee apples. 
Finish: Medium. Marshmallows, vanilla, honeycomb, lemon juice, hints of mushrooms. 

Comments: 

A Waterford, better than usual, with lots of sweet notes in addition to the earthy, slightly smoky character. Some feinty metallic notes appear on the tongue, but in general it’s quite pleasant with decent complexity.

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Ballymorgan 1.1

Waterford Ballymorgan 1.1

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster 
Golden
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, orange peel, lemon zest, fresh baked bread, mushrooms, molasses, hints of autumn leaves. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, slightly tingly, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Autumn leaves, orange peel, raisins, toffee, molasses, black tea, hints of vanilla ice cream. 
Finish: Medium. Vanilla, black tea, orange peel, hints of cloves, hints of nutmeg. 

Comments: 

Fair to say, I’ve not tried many Waterfords, but they haven’t lived up to the hype… so far. There’s some earthiness on the nose with this one, giving it some complexity. The high strength helps. On the tongue it dissolves into delicate sweetness, and tapering to a spicy finish. It’s good. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Ballykilcavan Edition 1.1

Waterford Ballykilcavan Edition 1.1

Official bottling 
Single malt - Southern Ireland
Green gold 
50% ABV

Bottle 

Nose: Cookie dough, sourdough tobacco leaf, apple juice, starfruit, fresh cut grass.  
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, tingly, turns watery. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Sourdough, vanilla, peaches, apple juice, fresh cut grass, malted grains, hints of green tea.
Finish: Short. Starfruit, apple juice, cookie dough, tobacco leaf.  

Comments: 

Terroir? Perhaps it makes a difference. Single farm barley? Again, perhaps. This Waterford was challenging, initially it doesn’t taste very nice at all, but as the air gets to it, it improves a fair bit. Lots of starfruit and gentler notes of stone fruit, but it’s under a heap of malty, bready notes. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Waterford Single Farm Origin - Bannow Island 1.2

Waterford Single Farm Origin - Bannow Island 1.2

Official bottling 
Single malt - Southern Ireland
Dark gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Green tea, cinnamon, cloves, toast, white grapes, prawn cocktail. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, tingly, slightly astringent.  
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Cinnamon, white grapes, apple juice, green tea, brown paper.
Finish: Medium. Vanilla, cinnamon, green tea, prawn cocktail. 

Comments: 

Another new release, this time from Mark Reynier’s new project in Ireland. Made with barley from Bannow Island farm, it’s spicy and light, very gentle and subtle. Irish whisky style.

Verdict:

I like this.