Today we’re going to Ireland. A new distillery is being set up in county Cork , Southern Ireland by Hibernia distillers. To celebrate the occasion, they sourced Irish single malt from an undisclosed source (Although I’d bet it’s from Cooly distillery), named it Hyde No 1 Presidents Cask to honor Douglas Hyde who was the first president of Ireland.
Hyde 10 yo is a proper Single Malt whisky that was matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in a different spirit cask and there are two variants: one finished in a first-fill Oloroso sherry casks which is the reason for the post today and the other variant was finished in rum casks.
Hyde 10yo is a limited edition with only 5,000 bottles available, it’s a non chill-filtered (yay!) and bottled at a respectable 46%.
Hyde 10 Year Old No. 1 Presidents Cask (46%, €69.99)
Nose: Malty and I also banana at first. Spicy but not your usual sherry spices but instead it’s more of the herbal spices side with eucalyptus, a touch of menthol and even a some junipers. The cask finish is noticeable but it’s not up front on the nose. Instead it’s light and it’s like the glass is 1 meter away. There are light dried fruit and cinnamon but after a few minutes it’s getting sweeter, fruit in syrup (like tinned fruit) and more sugary but still maintain that light and far away feeling. Continue reading
Nose: Light nose and it’s lightly perfumed. Dunno why but I immediately thought of a dancing floor at a spring garden party. Dried flowers, fruity with malt on the background, nuts and almonds, Semi dry. Despite spending most of the time in an ex-bourbon casks, the vanilla and honey are weak here. And then the sherry finish impact notes show up: cooked fruit with spices. cooked nutmeg, milk chocolate, hints of pepper. Despite being bottled at only 40%, it’s a pretty nice nose. 
Nose: Quite a bold and aggressive nose, chalky, fruity, vanilla and honey, pears, peaches, pear drops, dark and deep hue fruit juice, whiffs of pineapple. Concentrated red apples juice, soursweet candies. A very rich and fabulous nose. My money here is on a 1st fill cask. 
Nose: There’s no doubt it’s a Kilchoman. That ashy, sharp and crisp peat is so distinct… Sweet dried fruit in the background. dry wood smoke and nutmeg comes hand in hand and it’s working together quiet well. Slowly slowly it’s getting sweeter but still remains very smoky. 
Nose: It’s a soft nose and a bit muted at first. But slowly peat is rising up but it’s not so clean and crisp as I’m used to from BenRiach as it’s more dirty and leathery. Some fruit notes of apricots and cantaloupe melon. With water it’s softer and pack even more fruit sweetness but the distinct separate fruit edges get blurred. But even so there’s less apricots and more melon. 
Nose: This is quite a malty and soft nose. Full of sweet apricots and fresh (and a tad rich) perfume fruit orchard, zesty citrus peels, ginger and cacao, A lovely nose!
Nose: Heavy sherry nose with tons of dried fruits, a bit of smoke, sweet raisins and sultanas, prunes and cinnamon, thick and chewy, muted oak spices. After letting it sit in the glass for a couple of minutes there’s dark caramel and the it is spicier. Hey, there’s tobacco too now!
Nose: Yummy! Starts with a heavy PX influence but after a minute you realize it’s not your ordinary sherry bomb. It’s lighter on the red dark fruit front. Instead there are lots of fresh and sweet fruit, sultanas, soaked raisins and dates. There’s a good punch of sherry spices, cinnamon, cloves and some sweet brown sugar. 
Nose: First impression is sweetness and fruitiness with lots of tropical fruit notes. Fresh juicy pineapples, papaya and a touch of guava, Vanilla, subtle nuts, oak wood. All nicely balanced. After a few minutes in the glass: perfumed tropical juice, lemon zest and the nose becomes very sweet and like it a lot. 
Nose: Hmm this is one complex nose with everything is meshed together. It needs a few minutes to open up and deliver recognizable notes. First there’s slow, deep and gentle peat with deep dark fruit sweetness that reminds me of first fill bourbon cask impact with some vanilla, but slowly slowly subtle sherry notes shows up, getting stronger with time. There are berries, brown sugar and it stays subtle. 
Whisky Gospel 