This is a blended Irish whiskey from the Lambay range, named after Lambay Island off the east coast of Ireland (and brought down to bottling strength with water from Lambay, too!). The whiskey is initially aged in bourbon barrels, before enjoying a finishing period in Cognac casks from Camus. Yes, the puffin on the label is wearing a little tuxedo. Yes, we agree, that's adorable.
Porridge with honey and cinnamon, a soft hint of torn orange peel.
Peppery barley and creamy vanilla, mixed with notes of strawberry and peach.
Lingering cassia and chamomile.
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I bought this as I normally enjoy Irish whiskey, but of late I'm tending to drink a lot more Scottish single malts and have been exploring distilleries not normally found in the supermarket (courtesy of MoM). So my tastes may be changing and have influence on this review? Apparently produced by West Cork Distillers and the gimmick is it's finished in French Cognac casks from CAMUS on the private island of Lambay. This collaboration is the idea of the Baring family who own Lambay island, situated off the coast of Dublin. The casks are shipped over in small batches for a month of maturation before bottling with Lambay Island ‘Trinity well water’. However, I'm unsure if this applies to this blend or just the single malt they produce. It’s certainly unique, but to me the brand is a bit of a gimmick and I'm yet to try their single malt. It's triple distilled, non chill filtered and a pale straw colour, so may not be coloured either, but this isn’t stated on the bottle. On the nose it's very fruity and fresh smelling, with citrus notes that remind me of Southern Comfort - it's clearly young. Taste wise it's too sweet for my palate, a bit syrupy and floral. The cognac notes are there, but not very forward. It tastes muddled to me and not like any Irish whiskey I've had before. It’s certainly not bad, but I wouldn’t buy it again. However, I do think it would be especially good for cocktails, due to it’s very fresh and fruity character. An interesting experiment especially if you enjoy Irish whiskey, but there’s a lot better out there near this price point IMO (Redbreast 12 or Green Spot for example). For me it’s a sub £30.00 whiskey, so a bit overpriced for a NAS blend.
It's one of the best discoveries for me this year. It's got the maritime saltiness of Old Pulteney, the floral and fruity notes of Speyside, smoothness of Irish triple distilled spirits and most of all a very unique and interesting flavour profile from the cognac casks. This whiskey is not hard hitting and outspoken as many other Scotch whiskeys out there. It's a very good all round whiskey for enjoying in a company of whiskey newbies, because just like a good detective novel, the flavour is full of unexpected twists and turns that makes it very interesting. It goes very well with very dark chocolate and a cigar. Definitely well priced and worth a try.
