Here’s one of these Irish Single Malts that I really wanted to try: Ireland 1990 bottled in the Private Stock series by The Whisky Agency. A series that includes a lot of gems, often with tiny outturns.
Irish Single Malt 28 yo 1990 (47,3%, The Whisky Agency ‘Private Stock’ 2018, bourbon barrel, 153 btl.)
Nose: immediately the tropical fruits come out. Gooseberries, tangerines and bananas, mixing with greener, grassy notes and light beeswax. Subtle hints of almond paste and sunflower oil. Over time it gets thicker with lots of natural vanilla.
Mouth: a glorious fruit bomb. Lime, pink grapefruit, mango and guava, as well as tangerines and maracuya. The grassy notes are lighter here, which means it’s pure fruit juice. Some warmer notes of vanilla (pastry) and peaches on syrup too. Funnily, in the end it reminds me a lot of old cognacs (VT Lot 65 for instance). Just wonderful.
Finish: this is where you get oak spice, banana peel, melon sherbet and more of that cognac feeling.
As expected: I love these Irish Malts and the Private Stock series always manages to choose one the best examples. Excellent. I would be surprised if you could still find affordable bottles of this.