Review: Knappogue Castle 15 yr. old
October 3rd, 2008To fully understand this new offering, let me offer a little Knappogue Castle background. The first few vintages of Knappogue (not counting the original 1951 vintage, which was from the B. Daly distillery) were from Ireland’s Cooley distillery–including 1990, 1991, and 1992. Then the whiskeys were sourced from Bushmills. The 15 year old, reviewed below, is from the original Cooley stocks. Consider it an encore performance, if you will.
Knappogue Castle, 15 year old, 43%, $100
Knappogue Castle’s first non-vintage and the oldest since the original 1951 vintage release. The whisky is from three different vintages—1990, 1991, and 1992—which were married together. I am pleased to see an older expression because I have always felt that the previous releases, generally 10 years old or less, needed a little more time to blossom. Sweeter notes of peaches & cream, pineapple upside down cake, banana bread and vanilla wafer are balanced by a spicy, resinous dry finish. A textural whisky that coats the palate. My favorite of the post 1951 vintage Knappogues.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine rating: 88
