Flying Tumbler is an independent Irish whiskey bottler located in Co. Carlow, Ireland. ‘The Bird’ is an homage to the Irish Flying Tumbler pigeon, known for its innate ability of finding its home.
Drawing inspiration from their family roots and their travels while working in various corners of the world, the Walsh’s returned to their family farm in Ireland, which has the distinction of growing award-winning malted barley for generations. Upon their return, they worked with distilling experts to craft small batches of Irish whiskey inspired by their travels.
The Walsh family uses Irish techniques such as triple distillation, aging for over three years, and using only Ireland-sourced ingredients. In a prepared statement, Thomas Walsh, who is head of sales for the company said, “We source, mature, blend and bottle every drop of our whiskey at our base in Carlow, Ireland, and cut all of our whiskey to drinking ABV with water directly from our family farm.”
I found this whiskey to be very straightforward; what I detected on the nose and the palate was fairly similar. Although it has a minimalist flavor profile, it is clean and slightly sweet, with grass and citrus notes on the nose, and vanilla, white pepper, and raisins on the palate. This spirit is well suited for cocktails and as a mellow sipping whiskey.
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Tasting Notes: Flying Tumbler Irish Whiskey ‘The Bird’
Vital Stats: Aged 6 years, 52 proof (43% ABV), mash bill: 70% grain, 25% malted barley, and 5% blended whiskey. Sourced, matured, and bottled in Ireland, 750 ml bottle MSRP $43.
Appearance: Pale straw.
Nose: Citrus, lemongrass, hints of cherry lozenge, wild flowers, and soft, earthy notes rise from the glass.
Palate: It has a light lemon zest flavor reminiscent of the mist that comes off a lemon peel when twisted over a cocktail. There are also flavors of white pepper, vanilla, golden raisins, and hints of ripe banana.
