Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye /43%/ – Kilbeggan Distillery was founded in 1757 and operated continuously until the mid 1950s. Cooley Distillery Company acquired Kilbeggan in 1987 and within over 20 years had it fully restored and operational. Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye is the first expression to be fully distilled and matured at the distillery. The whiskey is made form mash of malted and unmalted barley and around 30% rye. Rye was used by Irish distillers in the late 1800s but was abandoned around the time of US prohibition and the Irish War of Independence. Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye was launched in November 2018 with no given age statement; in our opinion the whisky was aged for 5 to 7 years.
Nose: sweet and pleasantly spicy, brown sugar, honey, apples, gooseberries, buttered rye toast, lemon peel, hints of black pepper, ginger and oak.
Palate: vanilla custard, honey, apple pie sprinkled with cinnamon, bunch of garden herbs, pepper, ginger and hints of cocoa powder.
Finish: pretty long, with notes of vanilla, lemon zest, pepper, candied ginger and oak.
